Mable: Merry Christmas, everyone! Just decided to go with Wednesday as usual, so I hope it doesn't interrupt anyone's festivities. ^-^ I hope you had a wonderful day and Enjoy!
Almost Feels Like Home
Chapter Eighty-One
Mike was holding his breath as they drove down the street towards the house. His heartrate was still quickened even though the homes around theirs looked to be in fine condition. Then the house finally came into view and he could see that it had been spared by the tornado. He released all that pent-up oxygen and proceeded to throw himself into a coughing fit.
Marionette peeked out the window and broke into a brilliant smile. "The house is still standing! Hallelujah!" he cheered with a trill of delight.
"Crisis averted," Mike choked in between coughs.
"Finally, something has finally gone right for us today!" Charlie agreed. She was just as happy as they were but turned her attention to the coughing. "You should really get that checked."
"I'll be fine until Monday. Besides, I have a hunch that nobody's going to be open tomorrow… Except us, because Foxy's never closes," he said, trying to deflect the attention from his health. There had been enough fussing and worrying from Scott. He pulled into the driveway and turned off the car, taking a second to breathe before they moved inside.
Mike collapsed onto the couch and ran his hands over his face and through his hair. It was the first time he truly rested all day and he could feel it, dropping his arms exhaustedly and letting his eyes close for a few seconds. They opened again when Marionette sat on the edge of the couch and he watched as he turned on the TV with the remote. Charlie lugged Ella down towards her bedroom while he was doing so. Soon the news was on and already showing footage of the damage throughout the city.
"I think that must be near Henry's house. Unless the tornado dropped more than once," Marionette said with a frown. "I hope the others are as fortunate as us… I know Foxy's is alright, but their homes could've been destroyed just as easily. It's not like any of us have been putting away enough for a disaster of this magnitude."
Mike reached out and laid a hand on his leg. "Hey, don't stress out about it. Whatever happens we'll handle it," he assured him. "And chances are nothing did happen, or someone would've called by now. I think we're in the clear." Marionette still seemed uncertain but nodded in agreement. He then looked to Mike before getting a touch of a worried smile.
"You need to get some sleep," the puppet suggested. "Now that you can. I don't expect us to be going anywhere else until tonight."
"I'll sleep when I'm dead," Mike simply dismissed, to which Marionette frowned unenthused.
"It's bad luck to talk about death just after a natural disaster," he pointed out with disapproval. The man didn't even seem fazed. If anything, he was only amused.
"And it's bad luck to say "everything's going to go fine" before going out to ARI, but you didn't see me complaining," Mike said coyly. He then closed his eyes and draped an arm over his face. "Let me just lay here for second and I'll be fine… And if I do fall asleep, mind making sure I'm up in an hour?" Marionette gave a small trill of approval before pulling down the blanket off the back of the couch and over Mike. The man looked down at it as he was tucked in, but instead of dissuading the puppet he instead just gave a simple, "Thanks."
Marionette warbled and squeezed his hand before turning to look back at the news. He didn't leave his spot on the couch though, feeling overprotective. He would've followed Mike into the bedroom if he had planned on sleeping there. Anywhere where he could dream, the puppet would follow and make sure those dreams stayed comfortable.
Funny, he came back from Afton Robotics with more troubles than when he went in. There was a joke in there somewhere, but he wasn't sure if he liked the punchline.
Scott was relieved to see that the house was alright, but he knew the second that he stepped into the house and found the lights off that the power had out. This would throw a wrench into any of their plans, including him getting quick access to the news to confirm that the tornado had moved on. He still opened the garage door and went through the process of backing in and letting Ennard and Baby inside. Ennard didn't notice that the power was out until he tried to flick on the garage lights, and when he noticed so did Baby.
"Wonderful, and now there's no power," Baby fussed. She started to look around at the walls of the garage as Scott shut the garage door. "Is there a fuse box?"
"I don't think flipping a fuse is going to fix this, Babydoll. This is probably something on the electric company's end… Like a dozen downed wires and a huge tornado," Ennard exaggerated with a good-natured laugh. Baby didn't find it quite as funny and stared him down with disapproval. "Relax! I can still get the welder working. I'm like a walking battery, I'll figure something out and once we're working on your arm the hours will fly by and the power will be back on in a jiffy!"
"I hope you're right." Baby stood there a moment longer, lightly shifting her feet and letting the wheels of her skate squeak. "And… I would like to begin working on my rebuilding again. We've let too much time pass since the last time, and I want more done."
"Really? I was just waiting on you to give me the go ahead. Sure thing!" Ennard was thrilled at the prospect of having a job to work on, especially when most of his usual distractions were rendered impossible without the electricity to supply them. "You just tell me where you want me to head next."
"Maybe my arms?" Baby looked down at the broken claw in her grasp. She couldn't even imagine how they were going to clean that up, and it was still aching persistently. "…The rest of my torso. Then my legs."
"I think that can be arranged. Just let me fix up our battle scars and I'll look at what plates we've got left," Ennard agreed. He stared to grab some of the wires out of his 'wire pile'. "Lemme just pull myself together here. This might take a couple of minutes."
"Come on, Baby. Let's go sit down," Scott offered. He beckoned her while still carrying two cat carriers, having carried one in the first time. She didn't see much use in protesting as she wasn't interested in watching Ennard gorge himself on wires. She followed into the house and watched as Scott let the cats out. He gave each a comforting pet and a quiet assurance.
"Scott?" Baby tentatively asked.
"Yes, Baby?" Scott looked back at her with that same smile. Comforting and fatherly, but she never noticed until now.
"…Do you think I'll ever be able to go back on stage again?" she asked. She held her arm tighter to her chest and cradled her claw with her free hand. Scott seemed surprised and stared for a few long moments.
"Why were you thinking about that?" he asked. A non-answer; Baby took it as a 'no' even if it wasn't one. She sighed and rolled over to the couch before sinking down onto it.
"Charlie said that maybe there was a way I could be put on stage again. She even wrote me a song, and she said we could sing a duet together…" Baby gave a sigh. "Or maybe she was just trying to spare my feelings. It will take more than new plates and paint to get me back in working order. Maybe I'm just being naïve."
"No, Baby, don't think like that. It's always possible," Scott started to defend. He let the cats go and came over to the back of the couch. He could see how downtrodden she looked and, considering the hard day she had, wanted to help assure her. Even if he wasn't certain that her going back on any stage would be a good idea. He worried about what that pressure would do to her progress, but there was no reason to burst her bubble. "If that's what you want to do, be on stage again, then we can find a way."
"But can I even sing? Every time I sung before it was more programmed songs than my own voice. What if Fritz had to take that out to fix the insidious parts? I might not be able to sing without it," Baby vented.
"I don't think that's how it works. Maybe for regular animatronics that can't move and think on their own, but you're a special case. You'd just have to practice and get used to singing in front of people again. I mean, I don't think you're going to want to jump right up on stage. You're going to need to give yourself a little time. You know that, right?"
"I know." While Baby did know, she was impatient and restless. She wanted to do something more. She wanted to go out and perform like the others got to, like Charlie was able to do, and it frustrated her that she wasn't even at the point to begin practicing. "There's so much. Where do I begin…?"
"Well, uh, if it doesn't make you uncomfortable…" Scott turned to his wall of tapes and started to read through them. He squinted without his reading glasses and was just able to see the labels in the dull light. He eventually took one out, got the tape player out of his office, and sat down beside her. He stuck the tape into the player and began to rewind it. "This is some of the music they used to play over the speakers at Freddy's when there wasn't a show being performed. It might give you a feel for it."
He clicked on the player and music began to fill the quiet living room. It was catchy and upbeat while staying evenly paced enough to sound like the background music it was supposed to be. Baby tilted her head slightly as she listened. It was very similar to what she used to play with her band, and she found something about it comforting. It awoke instincts inside her that she had long missed.
"I like that," Baby said. She already sounded like she was perking up. "It didn't have any words?"
"Nope. None that I know of, but that doesn't mean you can't come up with ones for it. Now that Freddy's is gone these songs are just lost to time unless someone brings them back," Scott encouraged with a smile. Maybe he hadn't intended to, but these words struck Baby much deeper than they should've.
"…Yes… Yes, that's it. There are so many things left behind by those pizzerias. So many things, like me, that I can use for me. This is just the first piece to putting together a new Circus Baby, one who would put the old one to shame," Baby proclaimed. She looked back to Scott. "Do you have more music tapes?"
Scott smiled wider. "Plenty." He then stood to get more when he was cut off by a clattering from the garage. Almost sounding like something was dropped. "I hope he's doing alright in there."
"Go check on him. You won't be able to help me if you're worrying about him," Baby dismissed. From her tone it was clear she wasn't too concerned. "Then come back when you see he's fine."
"I'll be right back," Scott agreed. Honestly, he too believed that Ennard was probably fine, but after today he felt like he needed to doublecheck and make sure. The amalgam preferred being alone when replacing his wires- probably the only thing that he didn't invite Scott to join in on- so he would make it quick. He slowly opened the garage door and looked in.
Ennard was standing with his back towards the door facing the washer and dryer, on which he had placed a bundle of the wires he removed from his stash. His mask was resting beside them, but at this angle Scott couldn't see his face. Not that he was looking when he was instead staring at the amalgam's back and shoulders. He was looking emaciated around those areas, to the point that he could see part of an endoskeleton structure poking out of his shoulder. There was a mound of discarded, melted wires by his feet; the noise must've been him carelessly dropping them.
"Everything okay in here?" Scott asked. Ennard hesitated in what he was doing. From the motions of his arms, he looked like he was guiding the wires into his mouth.
"Going good!" Ennard chirped. He kept his back to him and started to shift more wires in again. Scott watched as one slid into place around his shoulder. "Took a while to get 'em all out. Heh, didn't feel too good either. You wouldn't believe how attached you get to a bunch wires holding you together."
"Great, great. I just heard you from out there and thought I'd check in…" Scott could've very well left right then, but for some reason, even though Ennard was clearly fine, he didn't feel completely satisfied with leaving him alone. He shut the door and stepped into the garage. "Baby's listening to some music from the old pizzeria. She was talking about writing some too."
"For Lottie again? Aww!" Ennard giggled. "You should've seen how friendly they got while we were running around. It was adorable!"
"Actually, she was talking about writing for herself… She wants to go back on stage," Scott said carefully. "I'm not sure how that's going to work out, but she seems excited about it."
"Ooh, I knew this was coming. You can take Baby off the stage, but you can't take the stage light off Baby! Ha ha, but don't worry about it. We still have a lot of work ahead of us before Baby's ready for showtime," Ennard said. He lifted bundle of wires and guided it into his mouth, setting the wires quickly as they entered him, already showing a significant increase in bulk. He turned slightly as Scott came closer to him, but not enough to disturb his work. More just to talk easier.
"So, uh… Are you okay?" Scott quietly asked. "We didn't really get to talk earlier about how it went down there. Other than the furnace, you know what I mean."
"Yeah, I can see why you'd think I'd get messed up, but I'm fine! Sure, I ran into some of my old pals, but I finally got to meet myself and that was worth it. That's pretty much what they took from me, my identity. Just wish they would've been a little nicer about it," Ennard explained. He shrugged a bit, "Eh, maybe I still read as 'nightguard' or something."
Scott smiled a little. "Well, good! I'm glad you're okay, because I, uh…" He cleared his throat. "I think we need to have that talk now. You can just keep fixing yourself and let me start with it. I know you're listening."
"Did they even know who I was?" Ennard wondered. "Maybe they were thinking I just came out of nowhere too. They had to know something was up, putting all those bodies up against each other. Maybe they didn't know how souls got into animatronics. I mean, they would've had some sort of clue! Animatronics don't come out of nowhere!" As the wires slid in, Ennard slowed to a halt, taking in that thought. "Huh, right. Animatronics don't come out of nowhere… So, where'd they come from?"
"It's not that I don't trust you, Ennard. I want to get that out of the way first and foremost, because I do… But I know how you can get excitable and act without really thinking about what could happen. In some cases, this risk is worth it, like when you saved everyone down there- Though, I would've preferred you did it without climbing into a furnace. I'd prefer that my clowns don't come back extra-crispy." Scott gave a light chuckle to keep the mood light. "But, uh… In cases where you don't have to, you need to restrain yourself."
"They had to be other workers, right? Baby wasn't, but the others could've been. You would've thought they'd be a little more with it. A lot of people disappeared at Freddy's, right? Or a lot of kids." Ennard went even more still as his wires began to tighten further. A creeping realization was climbing his spine. "Lot of kids… Mari was a kid, Foxy kinda, that Max guy- the whole band was made to snatch kids!... Must've kept those kids close… Oh no." He twitched as the thoughts raced. "No, no, no, wait. Wait a minute. Were they…?"
"Because all joking aside… I don't want to lose you. No, really, I can't lose you. You're a big part of my life… Most of my life, actually…" Scott's voice trailed off for a moment. "And if one day I turned on the news and saw you on it, shot down by police or taken in by some sort of government officials, I don't know what I'd do… And today, if it wasn't for Marionette telling Mike, I wouldn't have even known where you went. I need to know this, Ennard. I need to know you aren't going to just run off and get yourself-!... Get yourself hurt."
"…Were they the kids? Were they- Were they the souls of dead children who just didn't remember being children!?... And I BURNED them!" Horror engulfed him as he took in what he had done. He led to the destruction of their bodies, he forced them out and effectively took their lives, doing the same thing they had condemned Chance for trying to do. "I killed them, I burned them, I took their bodies, I stole their bodies from them, I BURNED THEM!"
"I thought we went over this before and I know that you understand it… Ennard?" Only now did Scott notice that Ennard was looking a little twitchy. The amalgam shuttered before reaching blindly for his mask, clearly beginning to go into a panic. Concern outweighed his upset with the clown. "What's wrong? Are you hurting?"
"I k- I killed children," Ennard blurted out. Scott's eyes widened quickly as the worst-case scenario sunk in. "They were children, not employees. The children they stole, like Baby, like Lizzie. I took their bodies."
"Wait, what are you saying?" Scott asked, also growing more panicked at the wording. "There were kids down there?"
"Ballora, Funtime Freddy, Funtime Foxy, they didn't come out of nowhere. They came from somewhere and I-." Ennard shuddered as his wires immediately started to loosen, preparing to reject the ones he had just put in. He shoved his mask on and grabbed the edge of the washing machine, struggling to rein himself in. "Help. I can't- Coming apa-a-art."
Now Scott was brought up to speed for the most part. This wasn't about actual children, but the souls inside of the bandmembers, and the guilt he was suddenly feeling for burning them. It made sense that it would come back to haunt him, and Scott reached for him. As he touched his shoulder, he felt the new wires shift and slide in deeper, preparing to be rejected. "Ennard, I need you to try and calm down," he coaxed.
"C-Can't? Did- Earlier- Buuuurned children!" Ennard became more unhinged. "Oh God I'm-m-m aaas bad as Will-l-l-iam!"
"Don't say that. That's not what happened. They weren't children, not anymore. Even if they didn't know what they were doing- Ennard, look at me." Scott tried to turn the clown to face him, prying his hands off the washing machine. "You were protecting yourself. You didn't- Ennard, it's okay." That familiar squeaking and shifting in his chest signaled the rapid decline. Scott tried another tactic, "Ben?"
There came that vice again. Suddenly his wires were too filling, and he could feel nonexistent skin being stretched and sliced. Ennard choked down the wires that threatened to come out. He bit down tightly and refused to let them out. "N-Nooo. Not Ben, not now."
"Okay, okay, sorry. You're Ennard and everything's okay," Scott tried to continue comforting. It was clear that it wasn't working as much as he had wanted. He needed something more, and soon he decided on something. He took Ennard's head and turned him to look at him. "I've got a story to tell you and I think it might help, but I need you to listen to me and try not to think about anything else. Just focus on me." Ennard gave a stiff nod and Scott began to explain.
"Today wasn't the first time I've been in a tornado. Back when I was working at Freddy's we had a storm come up on us out of nowhere. We thought it was just going to be a bad thunderstorm but right before the lunch rush we suddenly got a warning that there had been tornado spotting. Now at the time, Freddy's was really concerned about their image, so there was a protocol for everything, and the protocol for tornados was to take everyone into the bathroom, since they thought they'd be the safest parts of the building. But not into the safe rooms."
"Now, the reason for this was because the employees were told to move the animatronics back into the safe rooms. They didn't want them getting damaged. So, I'm in the men's bathroom with the other dayshift workers, including Fritz and Chance, and a few parents and kids… And Fredrick was there too. He was running it at the time. So, again, we're all back there when the power dies. All we could hear is heavy rain on the roof of the building and people shuffling around. We were pretty much packed in like sardines. People were standing in stalls and kids were even under the sink."
"Then, suddenly, we all hear these footsteps. These loud, thumping footsteps coming down the hallway. And I just stiffen up because I know it's one of the animatronics. I look over, we probably all looked over, and the bathroom door creaks open. Except it's still pretty dark because we're in the back hall and all the lights are off. All we see is this outline of a shadow standing in the doorway. It's Freddy, and just as I realize it's Freddy his eyes start flashing and he starts playing his music. Keep in mind that most of the workers in that bathroom had worked through the night shift at some point."
"Pretty much everyone becomes hysterical. Everyone starts moving and fighting to get to the back of the bathroom, trying to get in the stalls. I'm hearing, 'Oh shoot, it's Freddy!' But, uh, you know, not exactly that. And yes, there were children in the bathroom, and their parents. And these parents are probably staring completely dumbstruck- if they can see at all- as the workers at this children's pizza chain are all freaking out because a giant, singing bear walked up to the bathroom door… On second thought, they might've been screaming too. It was, uh, pretty creepy."
"The whole time our boss is making it so much worse. He's standing there yelling, 'Gosh-darn it, it's just a bear!' You know, 'You work with these things daily, suck it up and get it back in the safe room!' And yeah, he also served on the night shift, so he was just covering… Really, really badly. Eventually it got bad enough that Chance and someone- it might've been Dave- rushed the door and held it shut. I don't know how long we stood in there, but the entire time Freddy serenaded us through the door. Could've been an hour. It felt like days."
"Eventually, the storm slowed down outside, and we dared to leave the bathroom. We came out of that bathroom feeling like the living dead, and everyone took one look at the clearer weather outside, got their second wind, and split. Even the staff. Even me! Even now, every time the wind picks up, I swear I can hear Freddy playing his music outside the door. Especially if I'm in the bathroom."
Scott paused to clear his throat and could see Ennard still listening intently. The violent twitches had stilled, and he didn't look to be struggling with his wires as much. He was just waiting for the punchline, so the man decided to give it to him. "I bet you're wondering what the point of all this is, and there is a point," Scott said. Ennard nodded in anticipation. "…And that's that no crisis can outlast a Freddy's anecdote."
Ennard stared, his eyes twitched a bit like he was blinking, and then- much to Scott's immediate relief- he laughed. Not one of his typical, resounding laughs, but certainly an honest one. Getting that alone was enough to show that they were on the right track. By now the wires were replacing themselves, and the clown didn't even have to tightly clench his teeth.
"Okay, you got me. Ya really got me with that. I thought you were- You know what? I'm not even going into what I thought, cause I'm not getting on that train again. It leads straight back to all that," Ennard said. He struggled to try and keep his mind blank, to keep from thinking about all those horrible thoughts and rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Guess today really did do a number on me."
"I'm starting to think so. I'm also starting to think that maybe all these projects right now aren't such a good idea. Maybe after you get Baby's arm fixed you should take a break. You can work on Baby's façade tomorrow," Scott suggested gently.
"Yeah, I know. It's just that I don't have anything else to do… I'll take a break. The second I get Baby's wrist set right; I'll take a breather. At least until I start getting stir crazy," Ennard said. He put his arm around Scott and led him to the garage door. "Just keep with the anecdotes. I don't want to think again, ha ha. Please."
"I have more than enough Freddy stories to keep us occupied for days… Though if it gets to that point, it might be worth loading everyone up and going back to the basement." This roused another chuckle and Scott could feel the tension easing. Even the wires on the arm around him were starting to feel more relaxed. He didn't want to bring back that frenzy so quickly, but he still decided to ask, "Did you get any of that back there? What I was saying about you being careful?"
"Yeah, don't worry. I heard ya loud and clear from the heart of madness," Ennard playfully said. That wasn't as assuring as it should have been, and he must've realized it as he continued. "I'm going to be more careful from now on. Only reason I went out today was cause I knew we'd be safe. Nobody sees anything in this town."
"See, that's the thing. People do see things. They just don't act immediately." Yet as soon as Scott said this, he regretted it. Even as he was saying the words, he could hear his own paranoia speaking them, the worry that someone was creeping around and watching in the windows. He wondered for a second if it was just him. "But… I don't want you to live in fear. I've done that and it's not worth it. I just want you to be a little more careful, and to tell me before you're going to do this. Even if it's going to scare me."
"I can do that! I know you're gonna worry about me no matter where I am. That's why you came and checked on me when you heard me banging around, right?" Ennard asked almost teasingly. He quickly tugged Scott in and pressed his mouth to his forehead in a kissing motion. He lingered there longer than Scott expected him to. Then his voice grew quiet, a mere whisper. "Scott?"
"Yes?"
"…Do you think I did the right thing? I thought I was, but… Did I go too far? I really didn't want it to go that far. I didn't want any of us to burn."
"I know you didn't, Ennard. You were trying to protect everyone. I know you; you gave them more than enough chances to walk away… But they were too angry to even think about it." Scott patted his back reassuringly as he felt over his wires. They still felt alright; Ennard was keeping it together. "They weren't happy, Ennard. I know it's hard to believe, but not all animatronics want to keep going. They're neglected and angry at the world, fighting every moment just because they don't know what else to do… Maybe you set them free."
"But it's not like they got as lucky as I did. If things were different, they would've wanted to keep going," Ennard lightly protested.
"Well, maybe. I can't argue with that…" Scott gave a small sigh as he held tighter, trying to somehow ease the guilt and doubts when he wasn't sure how. "I can't say I know what happens after death, but I know there is somewhere we go. Somewhere beyond what we know or what we could possibly fathom. Maybe they're there now, getting to be free of everything down in that factory. Should they have had a better life? Yes, but we can't take that back. Maybe it was just their time to move onto that afterlife."
"…That was beautiful, Scott. Seriously, that's the only time I've ever heard someone talking about souls moving on and not make it sound horrifying," Ennard said honestly. He drew back and looked down at his human companion. He started to lean in and for a moment Scott thought he was going to press the mouth of his mask to his, bracing himself for it, except Ennard didn't. He just pressed his cheek to his, holding him close, nuzzling him thankfully.
A very small part of Scott almost felt disappointed. He swallowed it down.
"Well, let's get out there before Baby comes looking for us!" Ennard chirped before opening the door. He hesitated when it was only open a few inches. It took a second for Scott to realize why he stopped, because at that moment he heard something more than music coming out of the room.
"Double the sweetness, serve it up twice... Dress it in vanilla, pour on the chocolate too. Fill it with every bit of your sweetness, because the sweetest thing I have is you…~"
Sometimes they heard Baby half-singing when she was teaching Charlie a song, though she made sure to do this quietly and privately. It was very rare to hear her genuinely singing, but here she was quietly, soothingly singing to herself as she listened to music that only barely went with the song. She hadn't noticed the door opening as she was too focused on her own voice. They listened for only a few seconds before Ennard shut the door again.
He paused for a long moment before announcing, voice strikingly serious, "I've got to get her show stage ready."
"Do you think she's up to being on a stage? Damage aside, do you think she can really be safe? She… She hasn't really had to test her programming like you did. We don't know how she'll act if she gets around kids," Scott pointed out hesitantly. "Unless you have a plan?"
"Going in as blind as usual, but we can figure that out later. Getting her on a stage doesn't mean she has to get close to kids… But I can tell that she's not going to be happy if she doesn't get a chance to try," Ennard explained. He then perked. "We'll get it all figured out. First thing's first; we got to get her cleaned up, so she doesn't scare anybody… And we've gotta kill a couple of minutes, cause I don't want to walk in right now or she'll think I was listening in." Which he had been. "Got another Freddy's story?"
Scott had dozens of them. It was just a matter of which one could distract from both Ennard's restless thoughts and his own.
While Foxy had been told earlier that the pizzeria had been fine, there was little relief until he walked into the building and found it safe and sound. Like the weight of the world's oceans had been lifted off his shoulders. Not to mention that after a full day of forced socialization, Foxy was looking forward to a little peace and quiet. Along with a nap to kill a few hours.
He was stretched out on a mat hidden behind his stage curtains. It was pretty much just a typical gym mat that someone put back there to give Foxy a place to sit or lay when stuck on the stage for long periods. He wasn't sure who did it, but he was thanking them now. Or he would've been if that peace could've lasted. He faintly heard a door squeak open somewhere and his uncovered eye slowly opened.
He almost thought he imagined it but stayed on guard in case he didn't. When he heard the footsteps, he jolted upright, got to his feet, and was about to charge out and confront who he expected to be looters. He hesitated with his hook outside the curtain, realizing that looters wouldn't have gotten in as quietly. This was someone with a key meaning it was someone he knew. He cautiously drew back the curtain and peered through the crack, looking out just in time to see Jeremy stepping into the dining room.
Foxy swung open the curtain. "Ahoy there, Jer'my! Whatcha doin' here?" he greeted cheerfully. Jeremy smiled a little but was looking disheveled, more so than when he left the basement.
"Yeah, hey- hey, Captain," Jeremy said. His voice betrayed that something was wrong. "I was just… Driving around and I thought I'd drop in… For a little while."
It didn't take much perception to see that Jeremy was upset about something. Foxy could've believed it was the storm. Maybe the stress of his little animatronics and needing a few minutes away from them, so he drove back to the pizzeria. This seemed remarkably out of character for him, unless he was coming to invite Foxy back to his home. Though if that was the case then he expected the blond to be a bit more upbeat.
"What's troublin' ya, Lad? Thought you'd be home by now." It was the flinch that followed that tipped the pirate off.
"Yeah, I thought so too… But it turns out that I'm not," Jeremy answered. He looked almost in a state of shock as he fiddled with his glasses. "So, well… My apartment building was hit."
Foxy gave a sympathetic hiss as he stepped down from the stage. "Aww, Lad, I'm sorry. How bad's the damage? Ya gonna be able to move back in?" he asked. There were a few seconds where Jeremy fumbled with his words, and it wasn't until Foxy put a hand on his shoulder that he got it out.
"No, I meant… I mean the apartment building is gone. The apartment is gone," Jeremy clarified. He got a half-smile when Foxy's patch flipped up in surprise. "That was my reaction too. So, I can't… I didn't even check to see if any of my stuff was left. Not yet. I just… Drove around and… Ended up here." That smile turned into a strained grimace. "I-I didn't know where else to go. I need help, I don't even know where to start!"
Jeremy was beginning to hyperventilate, so Foxy took him by the shoulders and gave him a gentle shake. "Easy, easy, Lad. We're gonna work this out," he said, withholding his own reaction of shock to calm him down. Jeremy would come first; the implications of what the apartment's loss would mean would come later. "Just need you to breathe. Cap'n Foxy ain't gonna let his best mate live out on the street," he assured him. Jeremy clung to the pirate's arms.
"There we go. Easy breaths. Slow, long breaths, Lad," Foxy encouraged him. "Where's the dolls? They out in the car still?"
"Y-Yeah. They took it way worse than I did. They just- They're not happy. Nobody's happy, but they're just- They lost their home. I promised them a home, gave them a home, and now it's gone. Practically everything I have is gone, except the car and them, and you." Jeremy was starting to get choked up. "I should've just moved months ago. I knew the building was falling apart and I just sat there and let it happen."
"And what if ya had moved and the twister took yer new place? Twister's gonna take whatever it hits, good structure or not. This ain't yer fault," Foxy said firmly. "It just be a real bad stoke of misfortune."
While Jeremy knew he was right, there was a part of him who wanted someone more to blame. He wanted to be angry and to let out all the emotion at once, except that he couldn't. He was stuck with it.
"Sit down and take a breather an' I'm gonna call the others, a'ight?" Foxy asked. Jeremy nodded stiffly and shakily pulled out a chair to sit down. "There's a good lad." He patted his shoulders one last time before heading to the kitchen to summon the others. Jeremy slumped on the table and silently waited, having nowhere else to be.
It didn't take long for Mike, Marionette, and Fritz to get to the pizzeria. The speed alone showed how concerned they were, and they found Jeremy still laying on the table. Foxy ruffling his hair and trying to help, but clearly knowing he couldn't do much else. He looked up at the hallway as they came in and quickly beckoned them over.
"Wish ya got over here this fast on workdays," Foxy said as they came over. Mike gave a shrug.
"I don't know, Foxy. Then we might be expected to work," he said. Then he put a hand on Jeremy's shoulder, unsure if he was awake or not. "How're you holding up?"
"Oh, you know. Homeless," Jeremy said as he turned over. He looked up at his co-worker with exhaustion. "Wearing the only clothes I own on my back."
"Not for long you're not, because Fritz brought the van with him and we're going to go over there and help you salvage your stuff," Mike said with determination. He coughed a few times into his fist before adding, "And you're probably going to want to come too or we're going to look like looters. Mari's going to watch the Minireenas and everyone else until we get back." Marionette nodded in eager agreement.
"Really?" Jeremy pulled himself up. "Thank you, you guys. That could really help. There's… Got to be some things left… But I don't really have anywhere to put them. Unless we squeezed them in the office."
"Don't worry about that, Jeremy. Mike and I already discussed it and we think you should come stay with us. There's more than enough room for all of you," Marionette said. He kept a kindly tone and a warm smile to assure the man. Jeremy looked between him and Mike hesitantly.
"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude…" He trailed off before he could add the obvious 'but we need somewhere to stay'. He had little more than rubble to go back to, but he was aware that taking in him and all his animatronic 'orphans' wasn't an easy decision. "What about Charlie? Did you ask her?"
"We did before we left. She was all for it," Mike said. Which she had been, sympathizing more than ever after what happened to her family home. "Let's go. It's been a long day and the sooner we get this done the sooner we can get you back to our place and pretend today never happened."
As much as Jeremy wanted to skip going back to the apartment at all, wanting to avoid the agony of seeing the place, he knew that Mike had a point about salvaging what he could. So he stood, received a pat on the back and an assuring word from Foxy, and was led out of the pizzeria by Mike and Fritz.
It didn't take long to get to the apartment building, and it was clear that it wasn't the only structure in the area that had been leveled. Like Henry's block, there was damage down the whole street. Though to a lesser degree. The apartment complex almost seemed to fold in on itself with the roof ripped apart and only some of the walls remaining. There were other unfortunate tenants searching through the rubble that was once their homes, people who Jeremy recognized and sympathized with.
"I don't see any rescue workers, so I'm guessing everyone got out alright. That's something," Fritz said. "You'd think there'd be at least one person who refused to leave. Odds are there usually is."
"They didn't have to go far. There was a storage room downstairs that they rented out to tenants that they used as a storm shelter. I guess whoever didn't leave just went down there… Except me. But even if I didn't have my troupe with me, I wouldn't have gone down there. I would've rather stayed with you guys," Jeremy admitted. He looked out the window as they pulled up outside where his building had been.
"We're pretty lucky for that. Statistics show people would rather die than hang out with us," Mike called from the back as he opened the doors.
"That's not true, Mike. Statistics show that people around us just wind up dead," Fritz corrected. He looked to Jeremy for a reaction but received none. He probably wasn't even paying attention to them anymore. "Hey," the technician said more gently, now catching Jeremy's gaze. "We'll work through this. Maybe they'll even rebuild, and you'll be able to get your apartment back. It would take a couple of months, maybe longer, but there's always a chance."
"What about that mall over in St. George?" Mike called again. "Two, three years? Will we have hit the millennium yet?"
"It's pretty much the only thing to do in St. George that doesn't involve going outside. They'll be on it like that, already probably are," Fritz called back, with a snap of his fingers to emphasize. He then looked back to Jeremy, gave him one last reassuring smile, and got out of the van.
It was much worse than Henry's house had been. There Mike had been able to walk inside and mostly have a roof above his head, here the whole lot had collapsed. Partial walls still stood to divide the building and there was a little roof left, but not over any of Jeremy's apartment. His had suffered one of the worst blows. There were things left behind, but they were both buried underneath the rubble and mostly destroyed. Any electronics or appliances were unsalvageable. Jeremy's clothes fared a little better, except his other glasses, which seemed lost for good.
In the grand scheme of things, it was just stuff. It was just a building, they were just objects, it was all replaceable; Jeremy should've been happy that he and his mini-animatronics had made it out alright. Which he was, but he was still devastated. Everything he owned and worked for was suddenly out of his grasp and he didn't know where to begin.
It eventually became too much. Without a word he dismissed himself and sat down on the front step of what used to be his home. It wasn't long before his absence was noticed, and as soon as Mike noticed he nudged Fritz and directed his attention to it. The technician gave a sympathetic sigh and set down the cardboard box he was carrying then went to his friend's side. He sat on the step alongside him, putting an arm around his shoulders, and said nothing just let him deal with it in silence. Shortly after, Mike came and joined them.
Jeremy would get through this, and they would stay by his side to make sure he did.
Mable: …Okay, so not exactly a festive chapter, but that's life. XD At least it's not Christmas where they are, or this would've been so much worse. Jeremy's a strong one though, he may make it through this yet. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Happy holidays!