Mable: Here we are! Enjoy!

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Eighty-Seven

Mike and Marionette looked on in shock as the two animatronics on the stage went from friendly to feral in a heartbeat. Their eyes were focused in on their newfound prey and their personalities were lost within their own programming. Music Man was the first to move. He teetered sideways and dropped off the stage, somehow still landing on his feet even with how clumsy he looked. He then started to shudder in place.

"That's what he meant…" Marionette quietly gasped. Suddenly he realized why Orville had been so insistent that they left and so reluctant to come out. He knew that midnight's arrival would trigger this change. The puppet quickly got in front of Mike to shield him. "Keep behind me. They're not going to be able to stop themselves."

At least they didn't look very threatening. Or that was what both thought before what followed. Music Man gave a full body shutter before suddenly his chest opened down the middle- save the speaker that stayed attached to one side- and swung open wide to reveal endoskeleton, folded metal parts, and an unnaturally hollow space underneath. The folded metal unfurled to reveal two sizable hook-like claws that poised forward like the pincers of an insect. Then he darted towards them.

"Let's get out of here!" Mike yelled as he grabbed Marionette's arm and turned to run for the front door. This turned to be a good choice as Music Man's legs were just wide enough that he had to slow down to follow them between the machines. They were back at the front door in seconds and Mike was staring at the keypad blankly. He couldn't even remember the numbers, let alone get them typed in. He froze up.

Music Man started to barrel down on them again once he got past the longest shelf. Marionette turned on him aggressively and began to play his 'Pop Goes the Weasel' in a warning. It must've stirred something as for a second the spider slowed but then he continued rushing in.

"Backdoor!" Mike called. He grabbed Marionette to drag him away again. This time having to struggle with him for a moment before he willingly came along. As though he wanted to fight Music Man regardless of what they agreed on earlier. Not that any of those agreements mattered now that they were in this situation. He ran along the outer wall and straight to the backdoor, still where he remembered it.

The door was not the same one he remembered though. It was a new, reinforced looking one and lacked a keypad. Even though it was clearly an emergency door it wouldn't open either.

"Can you get this open?!" Mike asked. He made sure to be loud enough to snap the puppet out of his defensive trance. It worked and in a second the animatronic was at the door trying to get it unlocked. He laid one hand on the handle and another on the door and tried to focus. He could feel the mechanisms in the door fighting his prodding and that with his frayed focus was a sure sign of impending failure.

Mike tried to keep watch with his back to Marionette's and his eyes shifting quickly, but he didn't have much of an advantage. He didn't have any form of a weapon, he knew for a fact he couldn't take Music Man on with bear hands, and he still didn't know where Orville went or if he had come down from the stage at all. He could hear Music Man's frantic footsteps as it searched for where they had gone.

"I can't get it," Marionette admitted frantically. "Every time I start opening the lock it snaps back into place. I just can't get it to stay." He continued trying while his companion tried to think of a plan.

"Okay, okay, we're just… We're going to have to just bite the bullet and go out through the front. Alarm or not, it's-." He was cut off when Music Man suddenly appeared in his line of vision, down at the far corner of the arcade. He hadn't seen them yet so while he was still stiffly turning, Mike grabbed Marionette and pulled him back from the door and down the path beside the office. "Front door. Now. Only way."

Marionette got the picture and followed along behind him. Mike was ahead and just at the edge of the office when the puppet noticed something and cried out, "Get back!"

The man didn't even have a chance before Orville suddenly lunged around the corner and grabbed him by the shoulders. He shook him like a ragdoll before slamming his back into the outer wall of the office. Orange fingers dug into his shoulders so tightly that it felt like they would shatter his collarbone.

"I know what you did to them…" Orville choked in that broken, booming voice. "Children… Children!"

"That wasn't me! Get off!" Mike yelled, well-aware that the words were falling on deaf ears. It was no good; all of Orville's rationality had been swallowed by his programming. It was no better than trying to talk down a wild animal.

Though in this case he had someone on his side. Marionette sprang into action and onto the elephant. He swung around to his back and tangled his strings around his head before pulling back like he was trying to physically rein him in. Orville stumbled back over his round, clumsy feet. Mike noticed this lack of balance instantly and was quick to take advantage. He twisted out of his arms, hooked his leg behind Orville's, grabbed for his neck, and shoved him back.

Between him and Marionette they knocked Orville off his feet and onto his back, with the puppet barely skirting out before being landed on. Right when it seemed like they had it under control, Mike heard a creaking of metal rushing up behind him, Marionette's music having muffled the sound of another threat coming up behind him. He turned around just in time to see a claw launching at him and the only way to dodge was to throw himself onto his back beside the downed elephant.

"Your screams will be music to my ears!" Music Man chirped as he stood above Mike. His other claw reared back in preparation to strike. "NOW HOLD STILL!"

As soon as the claw struck forward, Mike lifted his leg and smashed his foot into it. The thin arm holding the claw- barely bigger in circumference than a microphone stand- was hollow save wiring and broke sideways under the blow. Music Man cried out in more anger than pain and struck out with the other one, hitting the floor as the Mike rolled to the side until being stopped by an arcade machine. He reached up and grabbed Marionette's waiting hands and was yanked forward out of the way before Music Man could descend on him.

The puppet helped pull the human to his feet and led back to the front door. They only had a small window as Music Man tried to get around Orville and would have to use this time wisely. Mike found himself back in front of the keypad again.

"Forget the police! We'll be halfway to Hurricane before they even get here!" he decided. He hesitated as he tried to remember the passcode, which was now jumbled in his head. "What was the code again?"

"Five. Three. One. Eight. Two," Marionette slowly recited. He sounded so stiff and stared down behind them like he was prepared to pounce. Maybe his programming too was going haywire.

That would have to wait. Music Man was already on his way, so Mike typed in the numbers. The keypad clicked like it registered and a little red light began to flash, probably signaling that the alarm had been tripped. But when he tried to open the door it still felt locked tight.

"…What?" Mike tried to shove it again to no avail. "Why isn't it working?! That was the right code! That should've unlocked it!" As he struggled with it, a look of increasing dread fell over Marionette's mask.

"She said that after midnight touching the keypad would trigger the silent alarm…" Marionette said. "…But did she say the code would still unlock the door after midnight?"

There was a short pause before Mike swore under his breath. He turned back to his companion. "Alright, new plan-," he began only to be cut off by the sudden appearance of Music Man circling the corner.

"I will tear out your vocal cords and strum them until I hear you scream a song of suffering!" Music Man called before barreling down towards them. He laughed with psychotic joy so loudly that it nearly shook the arcade machines. The imagery alone was enough to shake Mike or cause him to cringe and grab his neck. That was a fate he would rather avoid.

"New plan: back room," Mike clarified as he turned to run.

Without a word, Marionette suddenly decided to ignore this suggestion and launched himself at Music Man. He hit the spider animatronic with his full weight and knocked him back against one of the cabinets, the screen cracking underneath its head. Music Man recovered quickly and began to struggle as the puppet climbed over him, clawed at him and twisted his strings inside. All while Mike watched on.

"Mari, what are you doing?!" he yelled after him. It didn't look like Marionette was listening, or maybe he couldn't hear him over his raging music and Music Man's clattering cymbal cries. "It's not worth it!"

A dragging noise caught his attention and Mike looked over to see Orville crawling towards him. It looked like the elephant hadn't yet figured out how to get back on its feet or realized that by laying on the ground he couldn't get knocked down again. Either way he was coming up at the worst possible time.

"Come on…" Mike looked around quickly before noticing a propped-up push broom near the door. He snatched it up, quickly unscrewing the handle from the head, and pointed the makeshift weapon at the approaching elephant. "That's close enough, Orville, unless you want me taking out an eye!" The elephant kept coming and Mike aimed the metal tip to jab right into his face.

Meanwhile, even in his delirious and program-controlled state, Music Man ran out of patience with Marionette. "Tone-deaf pest!" he snapped. His good claw lashed out and caught Marionette's waist before beginning to tug him into his chest cavity. "I'll put you back in your box!"

The claw was just as weak as the other one had been but as Marionette tried to pull free the spider's arms grabbed and started to push him inside. As unthreatening as Music Man looked, his strength was impressive. Marionette pressed against the edge of the chest cavity with his hands and into the cavity with his legs to no avail as he was becoming overpowered.

All at once he realized that he was going to be shoved inside the cavity and sealed inside. The horror that struck him was unlike any he had felt in ages and his music became wails of panic.

"Mike! Mike, help me!"

Mike looked over and instantly knew what was happening. That spike of fear hit him too as he saw the puppet being dragged inside. He ignored Orville and ran over to help Marionette who was still calling for him. Mike drove the broom handle into Music Man's chest cavity and angled it down to pin one of the arms enough that it lost its grip. He then wrapped his arms tightly around Marionette's chest and pulled him back.

Even with one hand, Music Man's grip was impossibly tight. It was only when Mike shifted the pole and must've bumped something painful inside of the spider that the grip released his prey and grabbed at the weapon jutting into his chest. In this moment Mike was able to pull Marionette free and made a run for it. He kept an arm securely around the puppet to make sure he wouldn't even consider fighting back again.

Orville had crawled out in front of the door and was still turning himself to get around the corner of an aisle. Seeing no other option, Mike just sprinted faster and nearly leapt over the elephant before he kept going down the aisle beyond him. The only option seemed to be getting into the back where the kitchen used to be, but he didn't recall if the doors had locks and unless they put in a third exit it was a dead end. He realized just seconds before running through the doors that it wasn't going to work.

Mike tried to formulate another idea. The animatronics were too aggressive and unpredictable to fend them off in the office, the bathroom also didn't have a lock and the flimsy stall latches were doomed to fail and trying to get Marionette to unlock the back door again wasn't a choice. They just needed somewhere to stop, hide, and plan.

His eyes fell on the ball pit; not good enough. Then they raised to the slide connecting between it and the climbing tunnels; that might work.

"Change of plans," Mike announced abruptly as he took a sharp turn and hopped down into the ball pit. He waded through waist-deep plastic balls and climbed up into the slide. It was a tight and awkward, sure to be uncomfortable, but he knew the animatronics wouldn't be able to climb inside. He pressed his back to the top of the tunnel and climbed upwards, shoes squeaking on the bottom.

Suddenly something crashed into the ball pit behind them. From the rapid footsteps and the fact that it wasn't crawling it was obviously Music Man, and he started to approach the slide. Marionette looked back at him and unlike before had no desire to throw himself at him, especially when his chest cavity was still gaping open and currently collecting a mass of plastic balls as he trudged forwards.

Marionette helped Mike the rest of the way up the twisting slide. By time they were at the top they could hear Music Man scraping and banging against the plastic like he was going to rip it apart. Marionette peered out of a small, round window and could see that the animatronic was trying to follow them into the tunnels, but he couldn't fit himself in.

"I think we're safe for now," Marionette whispered as he drew back. "I still can't see Orville, but I think he'll have trouble getting in here with the ears and trunk."

"That's what I was thinking. I remember Jeremy saying he hid in here that time he got stuck here with Foxy and I thought if it could buy him time it could do the same for us," Mike remarked, pointing a thumb down the slide as he tried to get into a comfortable position. "But we've got to think of something quick because we're going to suffocate in here, if I don't cut off circulation to one of my legs first."

The plastic was hard and cold, the air was stuffy and stale, and he could still feel the dull vibrations of Music Man's tantrum at the bottom of the slide. The animatronic yelling, "You can't stay up there forever!" Then continuing to make the banging cymbal noises without the cymbals, showing just how worked up he was. By now Mike was unphased by it.

"I think we're safe," Mike whispered. He looked at Marionette questioningly. "What the hell was with you and Music Man? You just launched yourself at him. It was like you couldn't even control yourself."

"That was stupid, wasn't it?" Marionette admitted with a tiny smile. It dropped into a guilty and embarrassed look, maybe even one of fear. "I don't know, I just… Something about Music Man brings the worst out of me. He becomes so fixated on people and how he talks about them… He reminds me of my father," he quietly admitted.

Mike face softened in realization and watched as the puppet moved to sit alongside him. He hugged his knees close to himself and wrapped his arms around them like folding into a box; a squeeze of self-comfort.

"I didn't even think twice about the storage tank…" Marionette admitted. He shivered as he remembered the fear he felt being pulled inside. "That brought up so many bad memories." At this Mike put an arm around his shoulders for more comfort. It helped right away, even when Mike had a thought and asked an uneasy question.

"Do you think he was made to kidnap kids too? Seeing him up close he definitely looks like he was made by ARI, and now that we know he's got this storage tank and claws…" Mike trailed off for a second before hissing through his teeth. "Not a good combination in a place like this. Not with him being that strong already."

"I'm not sure. The inside of him wasn't like the inside of Lefty. It wasn't really a storage tank just empty space. Not to mention that they're hunting you and they obviously think you're the Purple Man. Chasing a child kidnapper while kidnapping children seems a little counterintuitive."

"Maybe he's killing off competition," Mike added. Marionette gave an amused chime.

"Now that does sound like the Purple Man…"

For a short while things fell silent as they rested, but then it was back to the more important topic: how they were going to make their escape. They began to go back and forth on the different ways out of the arcade. The front door was clearly not opening, the windows- in the few spots where there were windows that could open- were too high and small, and the kitchen could still be a dead end.

They decided that the best chance would be if Marionette went alone to try and unlock the backdoor. Without Mike, the aggressive animatronics would probably not notice him, let alone hunt him down so ruthlessly. He could work on the lock until he got the door open and then tell Mike, who would then have to make a mad dash across the arcade while the puppet played the distraction for Music Man and Orville. This seemed like a good plan and both were ready to attempt it.

Until Marionette suddenly perked up in alert. He stared at the window on the other side of the tube and listened closer, hearing whatever it was before his companion could. "Is that…" he began slowly. "Is that a police siren?" Blue eyes widened in shock right before he too heard the noise of an encroaching police cruiser.

"Christ, it's the cops! I thought Jen was bluffing!" Mike whispered frantically. He tried to look out one of the windows to see and eventually dull flashes of red and blue could be seen reflecting off floor tiles and arcade cabinets. "We are dead. We are so screwed. How do we get out of this one?!"

"Don't panic. That's the worst thing you can do right now, save handing yourself over," Marionette said firmly. He noticed movement across the arcade and saw Orville upright and stiffly walking towards the aisle behind the office towards the backdoor. It almost looked like he was trying to hide from the cops. "…Maybe they'll see that the door is still locked and won't come in?"

"That's not how this works. They're probably going to call the owner and get the code to get in, then they're going to look around until they find what set that alarm off, and only once they can prove this place is totally empty are they going to even think of leaving," Mike explained. As cynical as he usually was, he had no doubt that he wasn't exaggerating. "What do you think the chances are that they're going to just walk by these pipes? Because I think they're pretty low."

"We don't know that yet…" Marionette defended to try and keep the calm. They fell silent as they continued watching, with it taking almost ten minutes before they heard the front door open. "Here they come!"

"Damn! Get down!" Mike whispered as he laid on the bottom of the tunnel to try and avoid the windows. Marionette pressed to the corner by the slide where he couldn't be seen but could still peek through.

Two cops came in with the leading one carrying a flashlight and calling in, "Police Department, if there's anyone in here then come on out." He sounded too nonchalant, like he already didn't think it was a real burglary. Considering that the front door had still been shut it would've made enough sense to suspect maybe someone hid and stayed after hours. This didn't make their situation any better. This just meant there weren't any guns drawn.

They walked around the aisles and arcade machines at the front for a long while before coming further into the back of the arcade. They looked into the office, probably not even recognizing it as an office, and then headed in the direction of the stage.

"There's got to be a way out of this," Mike quietly muttered. He didn't want to panic but he could already feel his heart beginning to pound in his chest. A familiar tightness settled in his throat and he was becoming restless. "Maybe I could call Jen? If she'd even get over here in time." He caught himself when the flashlight shined over the tunnels and Marionette flinched back. "Are they coming this way?" Mike asked. The puppet nodded and they went still and silent.

The flashlight briefly shined over the tunnels again as they looked at the outside of the structure. They must've not thought it was suspicious enough to check as they continued to the door into the back, right beside the climbing tunnels. They called in before heading into the dining room and the abandoned kitchen. Mike dared to peek out and could see that the doors had closed behind them. In this precarious situation it was possible this was his only chance to escape.

"I'm going to try and make a run for the door," he announced. Marionette gave him a doubtful look. "This might be my only chance. They're not going to stay in the kitchen long and I can't see Orville or Music Man. I've got to go for it." He started to move back down the tunnel to the slide.

"Just be careful… If I need to, I can try to mislead the police, but I would rather not get too close," Marionette offered.

"We'll see. Hope it doesn't come to that," Mike said. He then took a deep breath and began to slowly lower down the slide. He tried to be as quiet as possible while creeping down the twists of the tight slide. He got to the last bend and began to move a little quicker, trying to think of a way to get around the ball pit quietly.

With a crash and no warning, Music Man burst out of the ball pit right in front of the slide. Mike instantly scrambled back as the animatronic tried to reach in after him. Its fingers barely brushed his shoe as he forced himself backwards up the slide. Striped arms suddenly hooked under his shoulders and helped drag him up into the tunnels. Music Man hadn't said a word and had still been excruciatingly loud, so Marionette wasn't surprised when he heard the cops running back out of the dining room.

A flashlight shined past the tunnel windows and Marionette quickly laid back, legs folded underneath him, flattening himself enough to dodge being seen. Mike was half in the slide and half out, with his back being clutched against the puppet's chest. They stared at the roof of the tunnels and could hear talking.

"It must have fallen in," one of the cops said. "But where did it come from? It wasn't on the stage."

"Could've been in that back corner," the second cop said. He shined his light into the far, dusty corner. Then he looked back down at the Music Man and noticed how it was poised; still as could be and staring blankly ahead at the slide. The cop's flashlight aimed at the slide and then up towards the tunnels. "You don't think there's a kid hiding in there, do you?"

The panic returned in full force. Mike started to sweat as he heard the dull ticking through Marionette's chest against the back of his head. This was it; they were going to be caught. Or he was.

The flashlights continued shining over the tunnels as the cops tried to look in. The first one spoke, "Guess one of us should go in and make sure." He shuffled over to the opening that led inside and yelled in, "If there's anyone in there, come on out."

Unlike the animatronics, the cop could definitely fit into these tunnels and Marionette realized he had to do something quickly. He had to go ahead with a distraction, hopefully one that would ward off the cops for good. Maybe if he could somehow convince them that one of the animatronics tripped the alarm. Except the door hadn't been broken or forced open, it had been the keypad's tampering that triggered the alarm. They would have to think one of them touched the keypad.

Then an idea suddenly struck Marionette and he knew what he needed to do. He squeezed Mike tighter and whispered telepathically, "Don't move. Don't let them see you. I know what to do."

Before the security guard could even respond, the puppet teleported away to inside the office. The cops had their backs turned towards him and thus didn't notice him. The one handed his flashlight to the other to hold for him as he began to awkwardly climb into the structure; time was short. Marionette circled the office and found Orville still in the corner by the backdoor with his head bowed like he had powered down.

As much as Marionette hated doing this, he didn't have a choice. He laid his hands-on Orville's shoulders, raised himself up until he was looming over him, and began trying to possess him. Controlling unhoused animatronics was extremely easy, like pulling on invisible strings and having the body respond with every pluck. Sentient animatronics were different, they fought it even when they weren't aware of it, and Orville was one of these cases. Even with his stillness, his midnight programming was still going strong and resisting the puppet's influence.

Unfortunately, this meant that Marionette was going to need a more physical connection. At least Orville didn't fight when the strings slithered into his body and forced a tighter hold on him. This time it worked, and Marionette was able to seize control. In the back of his mind he could hear the familiar whispers of the programming. It almost sounded like Golden Freddy's voice, except faint and foggy. It was probably him that implanted this animatronic to hunt at night, just like the others, but it must've been long ago.

There was no time to dwell on it. Marionette puppeteered Orville fully and guided him into making a mad dash towards the front door. This caught the attention of the cops, with one asking, "Did you hear that?"

All according to plan. The Puppet stopped Orville beside the keypad and tried to let out his strings as far as he felt comfortable in his hold, then looked for a hiding spot, but there was none. The footsteps were starting to approach and at the last second Marionette climbed onto a row of the cabinets and laid down on them. He turned himself away and went as limp as a forgotten toy. His dark fabric would somewhat obscure him, but he knew they would see him is they looked close enough, so he tried to resemble an abandoned prop.

He loosened his strings enough that they would lay on the floor and went completely still. He would be much too close to them. It was a risk that he would have to take for Mike. Right as the cops came around the corner, Marionette took control of Orville once again and raised his arm stiffly. Then he had the elephant tap the buttons on the keypad.

"Look at that! I've never seen anything like that before. It's pressing the buttons all by itself!" the second cop said in surprise and a little awe. That awe quickly faded. "They're going to have to do something about that… Ma'am, can you come over here for a second? Has this done this before?"

To Marionette's surprise there were footsteps as another person walked up. For a moment he thought it would be Jennifer, but it wasn't. It was a blonde woman of middle age who was dressed in a thick jacket and pajama bottoms, like she had just run out of the house. It occurred to him that she was probably in management and might've been out there as long as they had been. She stepped in and looked at Orville in shock.

"I- No! Oh my goodness!" the woman said in surprise. "We let them wander at night so their joints don't stiffen up, but we've never had them do anything like this!"

"Well, we didn't find anyone inside, and it doesn't look like anyone broke in from what we can see. All the doors and windows were still sealed. We did find something strange. The other one, the purple one, we caught it looking up into the slide that goes to that playground in the back corner. Is there any chance a kid could've crawled up in there?"

"No. No way," the woman insisted, much to Marionette's immediate relief. "We have a staff member go through and make sure its empty before we lock up for the night."

"Then I'm thinking that this is your problem," the cop said as he shined the light on Orville's poised arm. None of them noticed a single string reflecting in the light. "You're going to want to get a cover for this side or we're going to be called out here constantly, and we can't be driving out here on false calls." The woman nodded in agreement. "Now, can you do something about this tonight?"

"I can lock the keypad," she offered. The cops agreed and she reached in past Orville's poised hand to type in a new code. She seemed uncomfortable around the elephant and didn't look like she wanted to be near him. She pulled back quickly. "The morning shift will get him back on stage when they come in. I'm so sorry about this! This is just so bizarre!"

As strict as the cops had been, the three all shared a laugh as they made their way outside, still talking as the door was shut. The lock was reengaged from the keypad outside.

Marionette retracted his strings quickly but waited until the woman had driven off before he returned to the tunnels. The cops were still outside, but they looked to be writing something up in the car and were sure to leave soon. Seeing that his job was done, Marionette returned to the tunnels. He teleported in and instantly ran into Mike's back.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized. Instead of drawing back he readjusted and hugged Mike from behind. "I took care of everything. They're leaving and they're none the wiser." Mike exhaled in sudden relief.

"You're a miracle worker, Mari," he said. All the tension drained out of his muscles as the immediate threat slipped away. "How'd you manage to pull that off? Did they see you?"

"No, they saw Orville. I just… Convinced them that Orville set off the alarm." Marionette glanced to the side as his blank smile hid his unease. "It had to be done."

"It saved our backends, that's for sure. I much rather play hide and seek with those two than have to explain to a couple of cops why I'm hiding in here. They'd think I'm some sort of child predator," Mike pointed out. He looked over his shoulder at the puppet and reached back to pat his arm. "I'm going to seriously owe you one after this."

"Actually, you owe Music Man one too," Marionette said. Mike clearly thought he was joking by the half-scoff he did. "No, really. One of the workers from Hickory's was right outside the door and would've seen you if you had gotten out that door and blown our cover. The day was saved by Music Man's complete disregard for the police!"

"…I don't know what's worse, the fact that I was really thinking that was going to work or the fact that now I'm in debt to Music Man too. Maybe I'll put in a good word for him with Jen and we'll be even." At that moment Mike remembered the woman and started to get out his cellphone. "Guess it's worth calling her and warning her about what happened. Maybe there's still a way to get out of here." He noticed the quietness from the puppet and looked back at him before redialing, seeing his distant look. "Everything okay?"

Marionette gave him a subdued smile of assurance. "You know I don't like to exert control when I don't have to. But my strings were tied." He turned his head enough to look out the small window at the arcade. He couldn't see any sign of Orville but wasn't looking too hard. He was sure Orville would understand; he at least sounded like the type who would.

Mike took his hand and squeezed it. "Nobody got hurt," he reminded. "Let's just focus on how we're going to get out of here." To which Marionette nodded in agreement.

For now, they were looking at a long night ahead of them.

Charlie couldn't help but feel uneasy sitting in the empty diner. It was the usual place where they met up to get lunch, or in this case a late supper, but nobody else had arrived yet. She glossed over the menu before looking back up towards the counter. There had been someone there cleaning up when she first came in, but now they were gone. She almost wondered if the place had closed. At least the lights had been left on and they gave a warm glow that made the room less lonely.

It was then that she noticed a dull sound in the distance and looked out of the window beside her. There was a car driving through the darkened parking lot that slowed to a stop. Almost like it knew she could see it. It was hard to make out the details of the car and she wondered if it was one of her friends' or maybe Mike's. The lights of the diner flickered with a staticky sound and she looked up to them, then back to the car. She slowly stood from the booth and headed towards the diner door.

The moment she stepped outside, the car began to slowly drive further across the parking lot. She watched as its headlights illuminated the darkness immediately ahead of it, passing over a fence and tree line, and then stopping on the entrance to a dirt road. Charlie began to lightly jog after the car and watched as it entered the dirt road and disappeared, causing her to slow to a stop.

There was something about the road. She didn't know what it was, but she had a feeling that she needed to follow it. One last look at the diner showed that the lights had fully gone out. In the faint darkness she could see something moving inside. Charlie decided she didn't want to stick around and see what it was. Instead, she continued to head towards the road, and stepped onto it.

It was nearly pitch dark save the area directly around her. Trees lined the path tightly and opened above to a starless sky. The road itself was in poor condition. Barely a road at all and more of a path that had been created from a few cars driving by. Her friends wouldn't have come down here, but something about that car felt important. Like she was supposed to follow it, and like something waited down this road.

Charlie slowly began to walk down the path after the car. She could no longer see its lights but knew it must've come this way. Something must be down here if someone would drive here this frequently.

There was a dull crunching behind her, like footsteps, but when she turned back there was nobody there. Just a road leading into darkness. She began to quicken her pace. Someone was waiting for her at the end of the road and they would tell her what was going on.

Another noise interrupted her. This time not footsteps but something much more unexpected; a squeak. Like the squeak of a toy that just randomly came from the path behind her. She looked back and strained to see through the darkness. This time she waited for a few moments and then called, "Is anyone there?"

That was when she saw it. It started as a shadow then slowly came more into the dull glow surrounding her vicinity. It staggered and swayed almost drunkenly, struggling with its heavy body as it followed her, each leg trembling and body shuddering violently as it moved. It was Freddy Fazbear, with his head was cocked painfully to the side as he stared at her with darkened eyes.

"Freddy…?" Charlie started to back away as she realized this was familiar. "Didn't I see him before outside the diner? That dream where Baby was a cartoon?" It was as though she always knew this was a dream and yet still found herself afraid of the bear like it wasn't. "I've got to wake myself up…!"

She turned around and began to sprint down the road. Thankfully she had the speed of a puppet, running faster than she ever had as a human, but the road seemed to go on endlessly. Almost like the scenery was cycling around her without her going anywhere and looking back over her shoulder she could see that the bear was steadily getting closer.

Right then she looked ahead and saw what looked like the end of the road. It was hard to distinguish it- it looked more like a dull light than anything else- and a gust of pleasant warmth that coaxed her in. She was almost there, so close to safety, and she could hear a guttural groan from right behind.

Charlie looked back to see Freddy right on top of her. He reached out and grabbed her.

The shock of it startled the Security Puppet awake. She gave a small squeak of her own, a confused chirp, and her eyes darted around the dark bedroom. It was all just a nightmare and she almost felt relieved, but something still felt strange. She couldn't explain it but she could tell something was still wrong, so she turned over to turn on her lamp.

Jeremy was standing over her.

With another short ring of alarm, Charlie jumped back against her pillows and stared up at the man. He just stood there with his head slightly turned down and his eyes half closed and glazed over. He didn't react when she jumped and didn't even look at her when she moved higher on the bed. Almost like he was completely in a trance. She tilted her head slowly in growing confusion.

"Is he sleepwalking?" That was odd. Though she didn't know him well enough to know if this was something that happened occasionally or not. She wasn't sure how to approach this and started to gently rouse him. "Jeremy?" Charlie quietly spoke. He didn't respond and she repeated a little louder, "Jeremy?"

Suddenly the man flinched dramatically and began to blink his eyes like he hadn't done so in ages. It took him only a few seconds to realize he was standing in the dark. "…Where am I? What's happening?"

"It's okay, Jeremy. You're in my bedroom," Charlie assured him. "…For some reason." She didn't say that part out loud since he was already looking like he was about to panic. He began to rub his eyes with the heels of his palms and she reached over to turn the lamp on. "It kind of looked like you were sleepwalking. I've never seen anyone do it in person but that's what I guess it would've looked like."

"Sleepwalking…? I don't- I've never sleepwalked before. Why would I…?" Jeremy's voice was hoarse and he groaned as he continued rubbing his eyes. "My eyes are killing me."

"It didn't look like you were blinking."

"Ugh, my eyes are already bad enough. What was I even-?" Jeremy dropped his hands and looked to Charlie. He clammed up instantly and his eyes popped open like he had seen a ghost. He silently gawked at her.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked.

"I… I uh, yeah. Just… I'm fine!" Jeremy forced his own assuring tone and closed his eyes tightly. "Just tired. Just should… Get back in bed… Sorry for coming in. If I do it again- I hope I don't do it again, but if I do just… Maybe just wake me up and push me back out." He turned around and headed towards the door. It wasn't until he reached the wall and started feeling over it that Charlie realized he still had his eyes closed.

Maybe he was delusional from a fever. That thought got Charlie out of bed. "Here, let me help you back to your room."

"You don't have to do that…" Jeremy quietly declined.

"It'll only take a few seconds. Just keep resting your eyes and I'll make sure you don't bump into anything," she insisted. He was still stumbling on his words when she took his arm and started to lead him out the door and into the hallway, eventually going along with it once they were out there. She led him back to Foxy's room where the door was left open. None of the small animatronics were there so she guessed they were still fast asleep in Marionette's room. "Here we are. You need some water or medicine or anything?"

"N-No thanks. I'm just going to try and lay back down. Maybe get some sleep before morning." Jeremy swallowed thickly as he almost staggered to the bed. He slowly climbed under the covers and pulled them up over his head. "Sorry about all of this! I'll try to, uh, sleep… And not get up, I mean. If it happens again then just wake me back up, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan. Good night," Charlie said before shutting the door. She stood outside the door for a few seconds before returning to her bedroom.

That had been strange and slightly unsettling. Though it might've been so unsettling because it had happened right after that nightmare. That bear was still haunting her dreams and then to turn over and see Jeremy standing over her was just too much. She wondered how long he had been watching her sleep. Then again, he technically hadn't been watching her if he was sleepwalking. A weird chill rushed over her back as she stepped into her bedroom and shut the door behind her.

Moppet was back on the bed. She had been there when Charlie went to sleep but had vanished with Jeremy in there. Probably having wandered into the closet or somewhere if she wasn't as familiar with him. Charlie sat down on the bed cross-legged and pulled the cat into her lap. She pet over her back, then her belly when the cat rolled over and offered it.

Charlie tried to convince herself that it all felt so weird because Mike and Marionette weren't here. Because she wasn't used to being alone with Jeremy, who was still very sick. That the nightmare crept up on her because she was vulnerable. The only problem was that something didn't feel right this time. Then she realized exactly what it was.

The bear was getting closer.

Mable: I think something's wrong.