Mable: Happy Early Halloween! Hope you have a safe evening tomorrow. Remember to be careful! You don't know what may be lurking out in the shadows… Anyway, there's a new poll and a new chapter to check out! Enjoy!

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Seventy-Three

The wind was getting worse while Mike was circling around the warehouse. It was almost deafening and looking out over the city showed a layer of dark clouds. There weren't any signs of tornados, but a clump of clouds in the distance looked suspicious. He quickened his pace and made his way into the warehouse. The inside of the building was cold in contrast to the unseasonable warmth outside as he hurried down to the office. Just like last time, Springtrap wasn't there.

"He picked the worst time to go wandering off. Hope he's still here somewhere," Mike thought as he turned and hurried back down the aisles. Now he was borderline running. "Maybe he cut his losses and went back down into the sewer. If that's the case, I'm not going to find him."

As he got to the end of the shelves, he noticed a flicker of color nearby and looked to see the Candy Cadet twitching there. He had forgotten about the Candy Cadet but was unsure if it was worth trying to move it downstairs. As it was, he wasn't even sure if it was alive or not, but between that possibility and the fact that he was an expensive piece of technology made Mike realize that he had to get it out. He tried to start wheeling it out, which he knew immediately would be slow work from how heavy it was.

"Hey, Michael?" Mike called out across the warehouse. "You still in here? I could use your help!"

While Springtrap did not respond, Mike heard the faintest noise from the back. Almost like the squeak of a door. Leaving Candy Cadet, the man ran into the back and up to the door to the sealed room. The door had a thick dent in the wood from where someone had broken in and he could only assume it was Springtrap. He opened the unlocked door and looked in to see Springtrap's eyes glowing from the corner.

"What are you doing back here? You know there's twisters touching down outside, right?" Mike asked in disbelief.

"No," Springtrap simply answered. "I just came to this central room with reinforced walls and no windows because I felt like it." The human rolled his eyes.

"I'd love to bat 'em back and forth with you but right now there's a natural disaster going on and we need to get you and Candy Cadet down into the basement. Come and help me move him. He weighs a ton and we're running out of time," Mike coaxed. He was entirely unsurprised when Springtrap didn't move. "Don't do this right now, please. I need your help."

"I'll move him," Springtrap agreed, "but I won't go down into the basement. I can hear them all down there."

"…Alright, deal. Now that I know you've heard what's been going on, I know I won't be able to lie and say it's not that bad. Just come help me and you can come back to your closet with Golden Freddy," Mike said. He stepped back out and propped the door open expectantly. Springtrap gave a frustrated or exhausted sort of groan as he stood and shuffled over. It was when he stepped out that Mike noticed he was still carrying the Handunit. "Maybe Fritz had a point about him getting attached to that thing."

Springtrap headed out to the Candy Cadet, which was still muttering to itself and twitching. The rabbit then looked down to the Handunit and started to try and put it under his arm, but then decided against it. He gave a low growl of exasperation and defeatedly handed it over to Mike. "Don't drop this," he firmly commanded before roughly turning Candy Cadet and beginning to push it along back towards the door.

Mike opened the double doors for Springtrap and stepped out to make sure they stayed open when he just happened to look out towards the clouds. There was what looked to be a point of clouds aiming towards the ground but having not yet reached it. Definitely a forming tornado and he felt a rush of panic pounding in his chest. "Is that a second one?!"

The animatronic looked up now and noticed the forming tornado, and it was as though he was suddenly poked with a cattle prod. He rammed Candy Cadet with all his strength and started to force it around the warehouse. Mike followed right behind him, and they made it to the basement door before finding a new problem. While the door was wider than a normal door, meaning the cadet would fit through with some light maneuvering, getting it down the stairs was another issue entirely.

"Do you have ropes? Chains? Anything?" Springtrap asked quickly.

"I know we have bungie cords," Mike offered, and the rabbit's lids lowered unimpressed. "That's pretty much what we have to work with. Do I get them or not?"

"…Get them."

Mike did and Springtrap begrudgingly tried to rig up some sort of way to wrap up and hold the Candy Cadet, so that hopefully he could lower it down the stairs step by step. Once they seemed secured, hooked together and tethered crisscross across the cadet's front, Springtrap pushed him to the edge of the stairs. Using only his strength he started to lower it down.

Except that Springtrap had vastly overestimated said strength. In this body everything seemed easier to lift and to break, so he hadn't truly considered how heavy this bot was. He tightened his jaw and tried to continue the pace as the winds raged on behind him. He had almost made it one third of the way when his grip failed on his right hand. That was all it took to yank the cords out of his left hand and send the Candy Cadet heavily thumping down the steps. Unlike Baby, it hit the bottom like a ton of bricks and landed face first on its front.

"What the bloody 'ell was that?!" Foxy could be heard yelling. He ran out of the room and saw the bot laying on the grow. "Shiver me timbers, it be the Candy Cadet!"

"The wind must be bad if it threw Candy Cadet down here," Fritz spoke up. He looked wearily down at the bot before up to Mike on the steps. "You know you brought the wrong one, right?"

"Working on it." Mike turned back to Springtrap and promptly had a hand thrust in front of him. He silently asked for the Handunit back, but the security guard kept a vice grip on it. "Tell you what, how about you come downstairs with me and I'll give this back without a fight."

Springtrap's eyes narrowed and he reached for the Handunit with every intention of forcefully taking it back. Mike simply stepped down out of the way and onto the stairs.

"You know if you try to wrestle it off of me that you're going to risk breaking it," Mike pointed out. The animatronic stopped his efforts there and clenched his fists at his sides. "Now hear me out on this. None of us want to be stuck down in that basement but this is a life or death situation. If the storm hits the warehouse then you're going with it, and even if it doesn't kill you I can promise you that you'll wish it did." The man was firm and refused to back down under Springtrap's glare.

Eventually that glare broke as the rabbit looked away. He was stubborn but not stupid and he was about to cave. Mike continued to talk him down. "I'm not saying you have to go anywhere near the others. There's other rooms down there if you want to go off on your own. I just need you to come down with. If I can do it then you can."

With a tired groan and a shudder through his body, Springtrap gave a simple but defeated nod of agreement.

"Good choice. Now let's get down there and upright Candy Cadet before someone trips over him," Mike coaxed, trusting to hand over the Handunit before he turned to head down the stairs. "And since he's blocking the steps, it's probably going to be us."

Mike managed to climb over Candy Cadet while Fritz, Marionette, and Charlie came to greet him. "Did you-?" Marionette began only to be cut off when he heard the footsteps coming down the steps.

Springtrap slowly descended into the basement, as though keeping his word even with the Handunit still in his hand. At the bottom of the steps he lifted Candy Cadet up and wheeled him just enough to the side that he could slip past. Only then did he look at the onlookers. He said nothing, his eyes falling past them and to the room where he could hear more voices and see both Foxy and Natalie looking out. Then he turned towards the far door that Marionette had shut earlier, headed over, and disappeared through it. Isolating himself in the darker reaches of the basement.

"How did you get him to come down here?" Marionette asked in disbelief. He kept his voice quiet so Springtrap wouldn't hear him, but he was getting a small smile. "I thought he would fight you tooth and nail!"

"He nearly did too, until the tornado started forming over our heads. That and he made the terrible mistake of giving me his most precious belonging and thinking he was going to get it back," Mike explained. He returned the smile, proud of this accomplishment. "So yeah, my silver tongue saved the day."

"You do have a way with words," Marionette complimented. "It's only a shame you can't go up and talk to the tornado."

"I was practically standing in the tornado and he's not budging. Not unless he spots another mall." Mike grabbed his office chair and started to wheel it towards the other door. "Everyone's back there?"

"Pretty much! We've got quite a party going on, so thank goodness you made it in time. Any minute now we should expect either a breakdown or a throwdown," Marionette playfully chimed. "And then we're going to see who can cry the longest. I think my chances are good, but Jeremy's just about at the end of his rope."

"Sounds good. When do we start taking up bets on the cat races? I want to lose the rest of my savings just in case the house has severe damage," Mike joked back. He received another warm trill from the Puppet.

It was clear that the two of them were trying to make the best of a bad situation and that they were scared. Charlie understood and, honestly, it helped in taking the edge off knowing that she didn't have to be the one holding the smile. They weren't the only ones doing it either. Natalie came out to Fritz's side, who was lamenting about the loss of his Handunit- "I don't think I'm ever getting that back,"- and then they tried to keep busy moving the Candy Cadet themselves. Talking about anything except the tornado and coping together.

But this made Charlie wonder how Michael was holding up. It was her first time seeing him in a while and he had already regained that constant distance. He clutched that tool for dear life and retreated into the damp darkness of the further rooms of the basement. He was shutting himself off, and everyone seemed too afraid to push him any further out of the risk that he would leave. Maybe she would check in on him a little later. Maybe he would appreciate the company.

Mike didn't realize exactly how rough it was going to be until he and Marionette stepped into the room. From the puppet's slightly more careworn smile, it was clear that he hadn't seen the state everyone was in.

Jeremy had found another chair that looked more like one out of a dining room and without wheels. He looked worried and tired, eyes downcast, but still held the Bidybabs in his lap. They both looked fearful, but it was unclear whether this was from the tornado or Baby, as they were still leering at her. Daisy sat on his shoulder and hugged his head, with her tiny head buried in his blond hair. Plushtrap and Lilium sat at his feet. The rabbit sat with his knees bent and his hands covering his eyes while Lilium knelt beside him and pet over his ears comfortingly.

Foxy was pacing only a short way from Jeremy, right in front of the box that he had been previously sitting on. The two remaining Minireenas were dancing around his legs and seemed to be handling things better than their sisters. Balloon Boy sat beside the box with his eyes following them back and forth. Max had been left outside the door; maybe he too preferred to be alone. Louise was sitting on a box close to Jeremy and absent-mindedly shaking a bottle of fingernail polish. It looked more like she wanted something to fiddle with than really having any interest in painting her nails.

On the opposite side of the room, possibly on purpose considering the small ones' reactions, were Scott and the clowns. Scott was pacing in shorter loops than Foxy while looking at his cellphone, watching the time and how the service dipped in and out. Ennard was sitting on the floor beside him, slumped and bored, staring distantly at the dancing Minireenas. On the other side of him was Baby, who was leaning on the wall with her arm across her chest, holding her dangling clawed one. Her legs were partially crossed like she was either trying to pose or trying to keep from rolling.

In short, everyone looked positively miserable. It was almost as bad as stepping into a room with multiple Springtraps. Mike exhaled slowly and looked to Marionette. "Got any ideas how to pass the time?"

"Charlie brought the boardgame," Marionette said with a creeping smile. Mike didn't even have a chance to dismiss it because Ennard heard and suddenly raised his head.

"Yes! Finally, something, yes! Get that out, we'll do that," he was nearly pleading. Charlie handed over her bag to Marionette who knelt with it and began to get the pieces of the boardgame out.

"Now keep in mind that there are only four characters, so we'll have to take turns. Maybe we'll be able to fit in a tournament if we have enough time," Marionette suggested.

"Oh, I really, really hope not," Ennard replied in the same cheery tone. Everyone else seemed a little split in how interested they were in the game. Including Mike, who pulled the office chair beside the puppet.

"If I'm still awake by time the second game's going then I'll join in," he agreed. "If not, someone can give me the highlights. And if anyone decides to flip the board, do it that way."

Jeremy tried to rouse the little ones' attention in the colorful board as it was spread out while Balloon Boy scuttled over to sit awkwardly beside Marionette. The Puppet showed him the four character tokens, to which he eagerly chose the Foxy with a punctuating laugh. Ennard came over and eagerly snatched up Freddy, and it seemed like everyone was forgetting that they were in mortal danger. Everyone except Foxy.

"All jokes aside, which Freddy voice should I do for this little guy?" Ennard asked with a chirp. "I've got Classic Freddy, Funtime Freddy, Santa Freddy, Nerdy Freddy; I also do a pretty on-point Bon-Bon."

"I'd shut you down on all of those if I wasn't mildly curious about what a Santa version of Freddy is supposed to sound like," Mike added as he leaned back in the chair, looking ready to nod off.

Marionette chimed in, "You remember, Mike. I told you Freddy's used to do a big Christmas show where they would dress Freddy up and pass him off as Santa. He would get a deeper, 'bowl full of jelly' voice to go with it." He then sent an amused smirk across the room at Scott. "Speaking of voices, I think you did an excellent job in the Foxy cartoon, Scott."

This caught the man off-guard and his eyes widened. "…Well-."

"You did that show too?!" Ennard blurted out. He didn't wait for an answer and quickly turned back to Marionette and Balloon Boy. "You know he did Baby's Circus too?! Craziest thing!"

"I don't know if how you lot can just act like there ain't nothin' wrong out there," Foxy grumpily spoke up. He had stopped his pacing and stared at the scene with disapproval. Normally he wouldn't want to ruin his brother's fun, but he was having a crisis of his own. He was about to lose his career, his home, and his future in one fell swoop if that tornado decided to tear through the restaurant, and here they were all chatting on like it was fine. "We could be goin' home to no home. We could be lookin' at days without water, or power."

"Ugh, that would be a nightmare," Louise added in without thinking. This received a quick look from Foxy. "Oh, uh. Sorry."

Foxy turned back to the others gathered around the gameboard. "Laugh all ya want-."

"Nobody's laughing at the tornado, Foxy," Marionette said with exasperation. A light static was on his voice.

"Yeah, we don't want to risk making him mad or then we'll really be in trouble," Mike mumbled. Balloon Boy responded with a quieter laugh, almost like he was trying to suppress it.

"Laugh all ya want, but we be lookin' at a maelstrom tearin' through," Foxy firmly said as he stalked to his box. "And I fer one ain't gonna play games an' pretend all be fine and dandy." It was a powerful statement.

It would've been even more effective if what followed wasn't Foxy sitting down on and falling straight through the flimsy cardboard box. He scrambled and struggled, muttering in frantic embarrassment- "Fer cryin' out loud!" Until he barely managed to roll out of it and teeter back to his feet. Just as expected, he looked up to see everyone silently staring at him, barely restraining themselves from reacting.

But then the first reaction came, and instead of laughing it was a tapping sound. Foxy looked across the room at the source. There was Baby patting her hand on her claw, mock clapping at his embarrassment. He would've stormed out of the room to save his dignity if it didn't mean getting stuck with Max. Or worse, Candy Cadet.

Marionette turned back towards the board and tried to keep his composure but failed within seconds. He slapped one hand over his mouth and the other over his chest, and then shook like a leaf. Ennard's reaction was just as quick but much different. He turned on Mike with a tone of aghast and betrayal.

"You didn't laugh at that, but you'd laugh at this?!" Ennard cried as he pointed to the Freddy mask. "I get hysterics trying to look like a human, but you don't bat an eye when Foxy capsizes?!"

"I'm in range of the hook. The hell I'm going to risk laughing, no matter how far Foxy shoves his own foot in his mouth. Now it would be a whole different story if he was the one wearing Freddy's face and sweatpants." The security guard sounded much too cocky and was unfazed by the clown's sharp gaze.

This seemed as good a time as any for Charlie to dismiss herself to go check on Springtrap. She spoke up briefly with an excuse. "I'm going to go check on Moppet and make sure she didn't get too far." It wasn't a lie either since she did want to check the cat, who had run off somewhere under the stairs when Candy Cadet had fallen.

The Security Puppet headed out to look for the cat and found her quickly, as she was sniffing around the cat carriers. The cats in the carriers all looked rather relaxed considering the circumstances and seemed to do better with all the talking being in the other room. The largest one, the Maine Coon, was even curled up in the back asleep. Seeing them as fine, Charlie looked to Fritz and Natalie, who were now sitting on the stairs talking. They noticed her and she waved, waiting until they weren't paying attention again before slipping to the other door.

While she could see enough in the darkness, the back hall was cold and unwelcoming. She walked past a closet, a room filled to the brim with uninteresting boxes of forgotten things and found her way to a final room no bigger than the office. Framed posters propped against the wall and caked with dust met her on the way in and stared her down like she was trespassing. She almost felt like she was until she spotted Springtrap sitting on the floor beside a thin table that vaguely resembled a desk.

He looked up to her as soon as she came in, with his face illuminated by the glow of the Handunit that he had been fiddling with.

"I just came to see how you were doing," Charlie said as she shut the door to only a crack behind her. He seemed to ease up as she did so. "You came back here so quick you didn't give me a chance to ask."

"I didn't come down here willingly," Springtrap explained as he watched her walk over. She sat down against the wall only a few feet from him. Still giving him his distance but not sitting as far she had at the warehouse the last time they spoke. He noticed it. "I'm surprised you three are here at all with the basement in the house. Why come all the way here?"

Charlie shrugged. "I don't think Mike wanted to get trapped down there. I don't blame him."

"Neither do I," Springtrap agreed. He tapped on the Handunit a few times. She almost thought he was planning on ignoring her when a soft beeping started. She realized it was coming from the object in his hands. He offered it to her, and she tentatively took the screen, now noticing an image on the screen of a pixelated Freddy and a start button beside it. "It responds to touch."

"What is this?" Charlie asked curiously. She got her answer quickly once she pressed the start button. The screen changed to the Freddy on one side beside a stack of pizzas. On the other were angry looking red children. She used her finger to guide Freddy up to the pizzas, which he picked up and then began to slowly shoot out. "Oh, I see! That's cool, it's like one of the games from Freddy's."

"Guess someone was bored enough to take that off of an arcade machine and somehow move it into there," Springtrap explained. He looked away distantly. "Probably played it in the quiet hours of work."

But that meant he didn't do it. Still playing the game, Charlie innocently asked, "Did you know who it was?" What followed was a strange silence considering that she expected him to say he didn't.

"…I have a hunch," the rabbit admitted. His voice had lowered to a somber tone. It made the quiet music of the minigame sound almost sad in comparison.

She knew not to press. "What was his name?" She still went ahead and asked.

"…It's not important." He was just as distant. "But I know it was him… He was creative in his ways to procrastinate. Whether it be with schoolwork, housework, or just work."

"It sounds like you two were close," Charlie nudged as her eyes drifted from the game. "Have you… Ever considered looking him back up? Checking up on him to see how he is?"

"He's gone," Springtrap clarified. Before she could add again, he interrupted her with a final clarification. "He's further gone than I am." She understood it then.

"Oh… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry," Charlie apologized.

He shook his head. "It was long ago now. I have very few things left to remember him with." Springtrap allowed a moment of silence before turning his attention back to the Handunit. "Go ahead. I'll show you the others when you're tired of that one." With such a temping offer she went ahead and began to play.

Neither knew that they were being watched from outside the door. That an onlooker was observing their conversation and was disgusted by it and by Springtrap's obvious ply for sympathy. It was so hard to stay silent when watching the rabbit rope someone as innocent as the Security Puppet into his web of lies. Crafting a specifically laid snare to catch his prey into, as he typically did. It filled him with so much frustration that he swore he could feel it itching at his fingertips.

"What are you doing back here?"

Ennard jumped and spun around to see that Baby had followed him. If he could've began sweating bullets then he would've been. He tried to shush her.

"I thought you were letting the cats out," Baby inquired further. She then glanced at the door past him and noticed the crack he had been looking through. "What were you looking at?"

With Ennard continuingly trying to shush her, she eventually got fed up enough to just push him aside- not too harshly, he was sensitive- and look through herself. She watched just as Springtrap leaned over to show Charlie something on the Handunit screen. It was just enough to get Baby huffy. She drew back from the door.

"Oh. You're looking at him," Baby rationalized. Her claw slowly opened and closed as she considered what she had saw. "…And her. I didn't even know they were friends. The last I heard; Charlie was afraid of him."

"It's because he's telling her-!" Ennard tried to whisper but his voice came out too loud. Exasperated at himself, he grabbed Baby's arm and wheeled her back down the hall. She didn't react, still a little perturbed to see her friend being friends with Springtrap instead of her. Once at the end of the hall, the male clown turned to her once again. "It's because he's telling her all this stuff about how sad he is and how he's all torn up, and how he's Michael, and throwing this big ol' pity party!"

Baby watched Ennard toss his arms into the air and found herself confused. She knew he didn't like Springtrap- she pretty much didn't either but felt mostly apathetic- but couldn't understand why he seemed this worked up about it. "Why does it matter to you? Charlie is a big girl. She can protect herself," Baby affirmed. "Why do you care if he wants sympathy? Nobody likes him."

"Well, nobody likes me either, but that's not the point!" Ennard exclaimed. "He's just telling people about his lousy childhood, and how he lost everyone, and how his father was the monster, not him, and just- and he- a-and he's ge-etting ev-ryone's head so turned around-!" The amalgam was getting so worked up that his voice was beginning to skip. "And- And nobody believes me! Everyone thinks he's Michael!"

"How are you so sure he isn't?" Baby casually inquired, unafraid to challenge Ennard when he was flying into a tangent. To stop one of his miniature episodes. "I can't remember Michael. He was a stranger and so is Springtrap. Even if he is Michael, why does it matter to you?"

He stared at her blankly with a light twitch of the eye, like she had outright proclaimed that she believed Springtrap was Michael too. Without a word, Ennard checked inside the closet and then stepped inside before pulling Baby in too. It was a tight fit, especially when jammed up against some old mops that smelled like they had never been cleaned after mopping something foul. Ennard turned to the corner and fiddled with his coat and sweater.

"What are you doing?" Baby asked with exasperation.

"Hold on. Changing my mask," Ennard answered. He discreetly brought out his usual clown one as he tucked the Freddy one away somewhere.

"We didn't get stuck in this smelly little closet for that." She looked back to him again, green eyes trying to pierce into his back. "Why does this matter to you so much?"

The amalgam turned to her with the same exasperation. He now had his mask fitted on but there was still something off. That look, a subtle change that only someone who lived with him would notice. It was the first indication that something was truly wrong, and the second was what he said next.

"I'm Michael Afton."

Baby stared at Ennard, he stared back, and then she simply asked, "Since when?"

"Since I figured out I was!" Ennard cried. "It all fits together! I remember his name, I remember his voice, I can perfectly mimic his voice even when I never met him like this- I know I'm him. I know that's why I'm here. That's why I became this instead of dying. It's something about the family. I don't know how it all works out, but I know I'm Michael, and I know he's not!" The clown took her boldly by the shoulders. "Baby, you've got to believe me. Nobody else believes me, and he's been telling everyone he's the long-lost Afton brother!"

"I don't know about this. When you were… The technician… You didn't tell me your name was Michael," Baby pointed out. "You said your name was Eggs."

"Right! Eggs Benedict! That's why I went as Eggs Benedict, I didn't want anyone to know I was connected to William Afton! Could you imagine working at the dump that your father used to own?! I must have been using a fake name to get in and everything, and I don't know why I was there but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I know I have to be Michael. I know I am. I'm your brother." Ennard gave her a pleading look as his voice dropped to desperation. "You believe me, right?"

It all seemed very odd to Baby. But even beyond that oddness, she couldn't say she knew what to think. Ennard's explanation made sense, especially with how weird he had been acting, but there were gaps that made her question it. Not that she trusted Springtrap over him. It was all too much with little evidence. All she had to go on was how certain Ennard seemed, and like it or not she had begun to trust his judgement.

"I believe you," she agreed. "But what now? What do we do about this?"

"I…don't know," Ennard admitted. He seemed both relieved and crestfallen. "Nobody's gonna just believe me like that. Sure, he doesn't have any hard evidence that he's Michael, but neither do I! And he claimed it first. They're all gonna just believe him."

"You're not the one who has to prove who you are. You already proved that. He's the one who needs to show us why he thinks he's Michael and not…" It was only at that second that Baby realized what this could mean. If she believed Ennard- and she did- then that would mean that Springtrap would most likely be her father. For a split second there was joy, but that was washed over with a crashing wave of betrayal. It would be her father lying to hide from what he had done to them, and to her. She nearly saw red. "He will need to prove it."

"Good luck getting any of that out of him," Ennard muttered. He gave a defeated grumble and started to open the closet door. "Let me go let the cats out so I didn't lie to Scott. They're probably getting worked up being stuck in those crates..." He almost stepped out, but then hesitated. "And, uh, Babydoll? Thanks for believing me. I know this is all weird and out of nowhere, but I just… I'm glad someone believes me. Someone doesn't just think I'm crazy for the sake of being crazy."

Then he let himself out to go let out the cats. More than likely needing a breather from the emotionally intense conversation.

Baby remained in the closet a few moments longer to consider what she was going to do. Ennard got it off his chest and now had no idea where to go next. Perhaps just to sulking to himself about it, eventually revealing his finding to Scott who would sympathize but be unable to help. Meanwhile Baby would have to live with the possibility that the person in that rabbit suit was the man who she had loved and who returned that love by casting her aside and abandoning her.

Baby couldn't stand by idly. Not this time. She made her way down the hall once again.

Springtrap was in the process of trying to switch to another game when they were alerted to a low tapping noise from the hallway. The brief rapping on the wall caught their attention, but then stopped without leading to anything else, so they momentarily returned to the game. Only for the noise to reappear, now a more forceful knocking instead of an innocent tapping. It demanded to be noticed.

"It's for you," Springtrap simply said. Considering the lack of subtly, Charlie had a feeling he was right. She stood from the floor and headed through the door. There she found Baby waiting in the hallway.

"You know you could've just come in," the Security Puppet offered.

"I didn't want to interrupt your bonding time," the clown answered with typical fussiness. Though that turned to a more serious and grim tone. "I wouldn't have stopped you, but Ennard told me something disturbing about Golden Bonnie that you should know."

"Is it about him being the Purple Man?" Baby hesitated like she didn't expect the response. Charlie explained further, "Back at the warehouse Ennard made it pretty clear that he thought he was lying about being Michael Afton. That he thinks he might actually be William pretending to be his son."

"…Yes, it is," Baby admitted. Unwavering, her voice lowered to a whisper. "But do you know why Ennard thinks that?" Charlie slowly began to shake her head. "Ennard told me that he's the real Michael."

"Wait, Ennard is Michael?" the puppet asked taken aback. "Is he sure? Why didn't he ever say anything?! If he was right about Mich- About…" She sent a wary look to the door now as a chill raced down her spine. Once again she had to question who it was she had been speaking to. It all seemed so out of nowhere that she was still doubtful. "Is he sure?"

As much as Baby should've appreciated Charlie's wariness, her own doubt crept up again. "Ennard doesn't have any proof other than his word, but I believe him. I know when Ennard is lying and I know he really believes he is Michael… But Golden Bonnie has provided no evidence either." Her suspicious gaze fell on the door. "Perhaps someone should ask him…"

"You mean me," Charlie guessed.

"Now that you're so friendly," Baby agreed.

It seemed like there wasn't any choice. With a soft sigh, Charlie headed back to the door and let herself through. As Springtrap looked up at her she noticed that dreaded feeling under his gaze had started to return. She wasn't sure entirely what to think. Even if Baby said that Ennard was truthful there was a chance that both were mistaken, or just angry enough to concoct a lie about him.

"I guess you probably heard that?" Charlie tentatively asked.

"I heard it was Baby. I didn't care to listen for whatever insults she may have aimed at me. That was what she wanted, wasn't it? To warn you for getting too close?" Springtrap asked. He sounded rather passive about it, like the thought of Baby being that cold simply unfazed him. The Security Puppet shifted her weight between her legs as she considered what to say.

"…Yes, but it wasn't just because you are you. It was something that she heard that had upset her. It would probably upset you too honestly," Charlie tentatively explained.

"Believe me, nothing Baby can say will bother me. I'm used to how she is," Springtrap assured her. Though her change in behavior did pique his interest in what Baby could have said. He turned back to the Handunit and continued fiddling with it as he asked, "What did she say?"

"…She said Ennard told her that he's Michael Afton."

"What?!" Springtrap sprung from the floor and stared wide-eyed. The horror and anger were all very apparent.

"So much for not being bothered," Charlie thought as she watched him react. "But don't get me wrong, just because Ennard said that doesn't mean nobody believes you anymore. She was just thinking-."

"That- That parasite stole my body, took away my home, took away my life, and not content with that he's now planning on stealing my name too?! He hasn't taken enough from me?! Pathologically lying body snatcher! He hasn't changed at all, and he doesn't care whose lives he destroys!" The rabbit was positively growling. He began to pace in agitation. "Of course Elizabeth would believe him. She was brought up by a monster; she would see no qualms in letting one manipulate her again."

Charlie had a feeling that comment was going to make this a lot worse and wasn't mistaken. Moments after it he spoke it, Baby swung open the door and barged in. She was furious, and it was unclear whether it was what he said about Ennard or what he said about her that did it.

"You would say that, wouldn't you?" Baby spat. She slammed the door to shut out the others from hearing. "Because I'm being manipulated when I listen to Ennard, but you don't have to give answers. You don't have to explain where you came from or why you're here. All we know is that Michael was down there with us." She looked him over with disdain. "I don't remember ever seeing a golden rabbit down there."

"I'm surprised, Baby. Back at the false pizzeria you wanted nothing more than to rip him apart. What did he say to convince you to trust him now? Was it him telling you he was me, or was that just a new part of his game?" Springtrap probed the female clown. "The last I remember, you loved playing those games yourself. Maybe he learned from you, watching you lure technicians to their death without mercy."

Baby started to move in and from the way she started to subtly raise her claw it was clear she was about to attack. Raising it like a cobra would rear back in preparation to strike. That was when Charlie decided that this had gone on long enough and moved in to stop her by grabbing her clawed arm and pulling it back.

"Fighting isn't going to solve anything. You two can hurl insults at each other all day, but that's not going to address the real problem, is it?" Charlie asked. She stared directly at Baby like she was fully addressing her.

While Baby didn't think the puppet was entirely right- she still wanted nothing more than to tear Springtrap's fabric from his endoskeleton- she knew she had a point. Them fighting would only get the others in here and then the true issue would never be fixed. So, she wheeled back alongside the puppet, silently making a statement to the rabbit in the process.

"Now I know you don't want to hear this, Michael… But Ennard has a point," Charlie said. Springtrap's eyes widened at her. "I'm not saying you're not who you say you are and I'm not saying Ennard's really who he says he is, but right now there's two people who claim they're the same person and the only thing that could fix this is one of them having real proof." She looked to him with the hope that he could settle this whole dispute now. "Do you have anything to show that you're definitely Michael?"

Springtrap responded with silence. His gaze slowly dropped to the floor as he knew he had little to provide in his defense. Baby caught onto it quickly and was ruthless.

"No. He doesn't. He doesn't have anything at all," Baby hissed. She spun on her skates and faced the door again preparing to leave. Then to punctuate her intentions, she reached out and grabbed Charlie's arm with her normal hand. She would drag her out if she had to; no longer willing to leave her alone with Springtrap. "Just as I expected. He's nothing but talk."

"Wait," Springtrap blurted out. Charlie looked back while Baby refused to. He was looking at the Handunit again but raised his eyes with determination. "There is a way I can prove who I am."

"Oh? And how is that?" Baby challenged with a tip of her head. "Your words aren't enough."

"It will be more than just my words. All the technicians working with Afton Robotics were given a private code that was only known by them and only accessible by their manager if needed. These codes were used when the clocking in system was malfunctioning, to get access into private rooms. Every technician had their own number, including me." Springtrap looked between the two female animatronics. "But just giving you this code on its own would prove nothing. It would just get back to the amalgamation."

"And your point is? If the code is useless-."

"It is useless here," he clarified. "…But not in Afton Robotics."

Now Baby was curious and slowly turned halfway around to look at the rabbit.

"If I and a witness could get down into one of the facility's private rooms then I could enter the code and show that I am Michael Afton. He won't know this code. Father wouldn't have known this code, as they were implemented after he was no longer involved in the business. Probably to keep someone like him from slipping back in," Springtrap explained. "I have nothing to lose and I will take anyone as a witness."

"Then take me. I'm not afraid to return," Baby defiantly volunteered. They seemed in agreement, but Charlie looked between them with a newfound alarm.

"Wait a minute, just hold up a second. There's a tornado raging outside and even if there wasn't, we have to be worried about the police. If Clayton's watching Foxy's then he's probably watching Afton Robotics too."

"We have a window after the storm. A short window, but a window nonetheless. Once the tornados recede, or at least quiet long enough to drive, the streets will be barren. We move quickly, get inside, I prove who I am, and then we return here. That will be our only chance to do this," Springtrap explained to her. "We'll need to use the company van, so we need the keys and a willing driver. Mike may be best."

Charlie didn't know how comfortable she felt letting Springtrap and Baby venture down there alone. Mike's presence would help, but the last time she had seen him he had looked rather rough. She had inadvertently led to this breakdown of communication, so it seemed like it was only fair that she went with them.

She turned to leave when Springtrap spoke up, "And make sure that Marion doesn't find out. He will try to stop us."

She nodded and headed out of the room to get the keys, not even sure if the storm would soften enough to give them the window that Springtrap was relying on.

She stepped out into the basement's front room only to notice that she wasn't alone. Marionette knelt and Balloon Boy squatted beside the cat carriers that were now open. They were petting the cat that had once been the runt kitten, the most affectionate of the three. Moppet was there too and simply watched them. As Charlie shut the door behind her both animatronics suddenly looked to her. She felt like she was stuck under a spotlight, like they already knew what she was coming to do.

"Oh good, you found Moppet," Charlie said as casually as she could. She crossed over to them and Marionette met her halfway. "Hey how's Mike doing? He wasn't looking well earlier."

"He's not looking too well now either," Marionette said with amusement hiding concern. "He wasn't joking when he said he planned on falling asleep. He looks only a few minutes from being out like a light."

"Oh…" If that was the case, then Mike wouldn't be able to do this. That was fine, she could drive, but that meant getting around everyone else.

"Is everything alright? You don't look well either. Something on your mind?" the Puppet asked. Even with his usual smile it almost seemed like he was fishing for something, like he suspected it. "I noticed Ennard and Baby wander off without much warning."

"There was a little bit of a disagreement in the back… But on a completely unrelated topic-." She emphasized 'completely' just enough that he would know it wasn't, hinting to him. "I need to borrow Fritz's key to the van. For after the weather clears up. I wouldn't go out in this."

"Sure. Just give me a moment." Marionette didn't ask. He just headed into the room with the others to get the keys.

Peering in, Charlie could see that Foxy had given in and was now sitting at the board with Louise, Natalie, and Fritz. Upon seeing Ennard sitting beside Scott watching, looking a little quieter than earlier, she stopped watching and looked down at Balloon Boy and the cats. He turned his head just enough that he could look at her out of the corner of his eye, then gave a knowing giggle. Marionette returned before she could even consider questioning if he had heard anything.

"Here you are. I just told Fritz I would need to head out to the van once the storm let up. It's not entirely an excuse," Marionette explained as he handed over the keys. "Not to be too intrusive, but did something happen with Ennard earlier? He seemed a bit down when he came back."

"He's a little… Confused about some things. And he's not the only ones. Michael and Baby are up in arms about a disagreement that they can't find a way to settle. It's hard to prove which side is right when any answers are buried somewhere else. Where under normal circumstances it would be too dangerous to reach… Maybe it still is." Charlie wondered if he was picking up her hinting. From his complete lack of further questions, she assumed that he did. "But… I would trust them to sort them."

"Oh, I do," Marionette agreed. The was a short pause where he watched her before he added, "And you too. I trust you."

He knew. She didn't know how he knew but he did, and so did Balloon Boy. They must've heard the entire thing. Yet he was still planning on letting them go without even offering to come. It confused Charlie; was Mike really that sick or was the puppet purposefully resisting asking to come? She didn't get a chance to ask as he patted her arm.

"Sorry to rush off, but I have to see Foxy really quick. I'm going to see if I can get him out of the mood he's in," Marionette explained. Then he headed back towards the door, leaving Charlie to her own devices. She turned to head back to Springtrap and Baby, but then decided against it. She didn't want to get involved in that again just yet. Instead, she put the keys in her pocket and sat down along Balloon Boy. Cats always made for a good distraction and they failed to disappoint.

Marionette entered the room and brushed past Mike's chair, playfully ruffling his hair as he passed. The man was apparently still awake as he turned back to look at him. "Hey," he croaked. "Was that Charlie?"

"It was. I'll explain later but the long and short of it is family squabbling. Speaking of which…" Marionette came up behind Foxy, who was now crouched by the gameboard and unwilling to sit on anything that he thought might risk falling through. He put his hands on the fox's shoulders and looked over his head at the game.

It all seemed innocent, but Mike could hear that faint, high-pitched ringing signaling that there was speaking he couldn't hear. The Minireenas sitting beside Foxy raised their heads in attention, like they could hear it, but no human reacted to it. Probably assuming it was ringing in their ears. Foxy raised his head, he twitched, his fingers tapped on his leg, and went through a variety of reactions to whatever it was that Marionette was silently whispering to him. A whole conversation that Mike was witnessing but couldn't hear.

Then, all of a sudden, Marionette drew back and Foxy stood abruptly from the floor.

"That's it! I think we be havin' enough 'o this boardgame! Time we play somethin' a little more rousin'. Somethin' with risk and reward!" Foxy proclaimed dramatically. "Maybe a strappin' game of animatronics an' nightguards if we got enough rooms down 'ere'." It was almost like Foxy was a completely different person. He went from being a grouch to what might've been the perfect distraction.

Mike would have to hear the story behind this one.

Mable: To be fair, I don't think anyone involved really believes this is a good idea. More than likely it is just a horrible combination of frustration and cabin fever, but maybe, just maybe, questions will finally be answered… And just maybe this is why it's not safe to put this many sentient animatronics in the same room. XD