Mable: Guess who went for an emergency tooth extraction yesterday? Ah, good times! Nothing like having a gaping hole where my wisdom tooth used to be. XD Anyway, here's the update on schedule. Enjoy!

Almost Feels Like Home

Chapter Ninety-Four

"I turned to look back and I saw the headlights… And then nothing."

Jessica lightly cringed at the explanation but listened with a nod. The group was currently making their way slowly through an overfilled basement and checking rooms as they passed them. Since she feared they had limited time together she had started asking questions, which inevitably led to Charlie's recount of the night of her murder. It was as uncomfortable to say it as much as to hear it, but she continued.

"I know I was alive for a little while after that, but I don't remember any of it. I don't even remember the pain or anything. It was just like I went to sleep. Like when they put you under for surgery, a split second and then I woke up like this."

"It doesn't… Hurt, right?" Jessica asked with concern.

"No. It actually feels a lot like being alive. Except for the little things, like it takes a while to get used to the feeling of not needing to breathe. Things you never really notice," Charlie explained. She looked down towards her hands momentarily. They felt so much like hers after all this time that it was weird to flex her fingers and know these weren't the ones she was born with. "There's other things too. I can feel the metal parts inside of me, ticking and shifting, almost like a heartbeat. It's still a little tricky controlling the ringing."

"I just… It's amazing. I can't understand it, but it's a miracle," Jessica said. Her smile returned eagerly. "That you're here and you're you. That you were so close the whole time! I must've gone to Foxy's a few times, but I never thought- Oh… Foxy's. We never- You mentioned losing your home. You've been living at Foxy's?" Her voice filled with concern. "They don't make you act like that, do they?"

"No, it's nothing like that. I chose to start performing there. That's another thing with this body. It comes with its own wants and needs. I never wanted to perform until I was suddenly made to do it," Charlie admitted with an almost embarrassed smile. "But I don't live there. I've been living with Mike…" She hesitated a moment, wondering how far she was willing to go with this. Jessica must've noticed how she was suddenly averting her gaze as she was looking closer now. "…And Mari," she finally added.

"Mari?"

"He's the one who saved me. He's been like a brother to me since then. It's hard to explain…" Specifically, it is difficult to explain it without telling her what Marionette actually was, but she wasn't willing to risk his identity yet, not even to one of her closest friends. Even when she trusted Jessica with her life. She tried to change the subject. "I had to learn to walk again. It was like walking on stilts."

Jessica hadn't really paid attention to her legs until now but looking down at them raised some brows. She had walked pumps with multiple inch heels on them and still couldn't imagine needing that amount of balance. It wasn't almost enough to make her forget what her friend previously said, but she thought back to it and caught something she almost missed.

"Wait, Mari?" From her tone alone, Charlie knew she must've caught on. Jessica looked to her in surprise as she asked, "Do you mean the Marionette? The Puppet over at Foxy's?" Charlie didn't reply and it was that silence that gave Jessica her answer.

They were cut off by a loud banging from ahead. Both looked over to see that the door John and Lamar were trying to get open had swung open with a bang. It looked like John had gone staggering through too, and Lamar looked in after him to make sure he didn't crash to the floor.

"Did you just break down that door?!" Marla called in disbelief, having been standing close enough to Charlie and Jessica to listen to their conversation. John shuffled back through.

"Nah, just gave it a little shove and it gave. Old building and all," he excused. He looked to Lamar and added quieter, "So, it's not breaking and entering or destruction of private property."

Lamar half-shrugged before furrowing his brow and asking, "Why are you walking like that?"

"John, your back!" Jessica's eyes popped open as she suddenly remembered his earlier injury. She rushed over to him, circled him, and started yanking up his jacket without any warning. "Let me take a look."

"Jess, it's fine," John tried to deny. He cut off his protests with a hiss as she lifted his shirt gently, which had become stuck to the blood on his back and pulled just the same. She frowned with concern as she saw the three long slices across half of his back. Most of the bleeding had stopped, save what was irritated from her lifting his shirt, but the skin was still an angry red. "How's it look, Doc?" John asked with a grimace-smile.

"You're lucky. I think you just avoided stitches, but unless you want to get this bleeding again, you're going to have to avoid straining it. That includes breaking down doors," Jessica said firmly. She looked over the wounds with dissatisfaction before slowly working his shirt back down. "We're going to have to clean them up as soon as we get out of here to keep them from getting infected."

"Who knows what was on that thing's hands," Marla remarked with a shiver. The thought of the rabbit period ran a chill down her spine.

It didn't unsettle her nearly as much as it did Charlie though. She caught a glimpse of the scratches and felt a newfound dread. The Twisted Bonnie had been so fixated on attacking the humans and yet it had completely overlooked her, even when she was climbing over it to escape its prison. This encouraged her to take the lead again as she passed through the door John opened.

This led into another hallway. There was a slender hatch against the wall that almost blended in, but Charlie overlooked it to continue down the corridor. Eventually this led in two directions; one was an elevator- probably connected to the one upstairs- and the other looked like another security door with a window beside it. She headed up to it and looked through to see what looked like a furnace room.

Marla looked through beside her while Carlton continued to the door. He looked at the big button beside the door for a second before raising a hand. "I'm going to try this," he forewarned. It was a good thing he did too, because the moment he pressed the button an obnoxious buzzer echoed through the hallway. The door didn't open. "…What is even the point of this?"

"Probably to tell those things we're down here," Marla said matter-of-factly. Charlie had to admit that it was a good point. "Which means that this is a dead end. Unless we take the elevator up."

"I think I saw a maintenance hatch back in the hall," Charlie said. Without provocation, she took lead in heading back to the hall to check, and Jessica was quick to tail her. Sure enough, the slender hatch on the wall opened without much issue and revealed a narrow crawlspace inside. "Not the most ideal choice, but it's a way forward," Charlie offered. Though one look back towards Jessica, and John and the others behind her, reminded her that there was still risk involved if this was like the vents. "You all stay here, and I'll check to make sure it's safe."

"No," Jessica outright denied. It surprised Charlie to see her that forceful, but she supposed she might've deserved it.

"Okay… Then at least stay a few feet back. When I was back in the vent I almost got caught in a snare. If someone could put that in a vent then they could fit something bigger here," the Security Puppet warned as she stepped inside. She was cautious as she took a few steps inside.

"A snare?" Jessica asked in confusion. Though she then got a disturbed look. "…To catch what?"

"…Probably us," Charlie admitted. She decided not to bring up the heater. For now 'us' could be all of them, but with that heater 'us' was definitely animatronics. Someone was trying to trap animatronics. Yet she couldn't ignore the fact that the vent was much too small for that Bonnie to fit. She tried to focus on the task at hand and not worry about where the others were.

It was dark but the walls were closed in enough that even without the flashlight shining behind her the others would've been able to get through rather easily. She kept her eyes focused on the walls and floor, expecting the path to be trapped like the vent had been but it seemed cleared out. Halfway down the passage she thought she could hear talking through the walls. Nobody else seemed to hear it.

There was a second hatch at the end of the passage and Charlie opened it only for it to stop after an inch. Peeking through the crack, she could see what looked a mound of scrap metal. She had no doubt more of that was blocking the hatch. She pushed a little firmer and the hatch barely shifted. "I'm going to need a little help here," she said.

The group behind her shifted around as they tried to get around each other in the tight space. John made a move for the front but was stopped by Lamar, unwilling to have him limping again. In the end it was Carlton who got to the front and leaned on the hatch beside her.

"Push on three?" he offered. To which she nodded and braced her back on the hatch. "Okay. One… Two… Hey, first-." Charlie caught herself at the last second and sent him a befuddled look. "I've got to ask you… Have you seen a clown?" The Security Puppet got a blank look, but he read it as uncertainty. "It's got a white face and this crazy, psycho laugh."

"Oh great. Now I'm going to rat out Ennard," Charlie thought in defeat.

"I saw it climbing in and out of the sewers twice and it sort of looked like an animatronic, and that would make a lot more sense than some guy dressed like a clown."

"…Or Ennard already ratted himself out." At this point it wasn't like denying it would help. If anything, maybe she could cover for him. "Yeah, I know him. He's… eccentric," Charlie clarified, making invisible quotes with her fingers. "To be honest, he's upstairs right now, but you probably won't see him." Carlton immediately went stark pale. "On the count of three-," she said, snapping him back to the task. "One… Two… Three!"

They pushed with all their strength and the door slowly started to open. There was a squealing on the other side as metal slid on the floor, along with a clattering once it started to fall off the mound blocking them. Jessica came up to help as well, barely squeezing between them, and the three of them managed to get the door halfway open. It was just enough for Charlie to lean out and see the furnace room. They were against the back wall amongst the mounds of refuse, and she squeezed out and climbed on top of the scrap.

Carlton was soon behind her and then Jessica, and one by one her friends slid out into the room and started to cross over the scrap. It was awkward traversing over it. While it seemed like the scrap should've been there a while and thus settled, it hadn't. One wrong step caused Jessica's foot to slide and Marla's attempt to catch her caused both to fall onto pile. It was understandably painful.

"Are you two okay?" John asked as he offered his hands. Jessica took it and started to stand while Marla tried to straighten herself first. Lamar came around behind John cautiously, trying to avoid a similar slide.

"Ugh, all of us are going to get some sort of funky tetanus down here," Marla muttered as she started to push herself up. Carlton got his hands under her shoulders and started to help lift her as she got her unsteady footing. "If we're going to get stuck coming back the way we came- Lamar!"

Complaint abruptly turned to a frantic cry and Lamar jolted at it. He felt a shifting underneath him even though he had stopped moving and looked down to see sharp points like knives jutting out beneath him. He choked and leapt back, stumbling over his feet and the loose scrap. Both him and Marla had been thinking of what Charlie had said about traps, so when they saw those sharp prongs they imagined the same thing, that it was a bear trap. Technically, it was.

As a large form rose out of the scrap metal, the prongs were revealed to be teeth in a gaping maw, the form being the twisted visage of Freddy Fazbear. It clawed at the metal and climbed out of the mass like it was a mound of dirt. Much to the group's horror, they realized they had all passed over it. Lamar was unlucky enough to be the target only because he was the one in the back, and its blue eyes affixed on him.

It let out a great bellow and took a few slow steps towards the young man, forcing both him and John to move back towards the back corner. It started towards them before suddenly turning itself towards Carlton and Marla. Carlton was quick in throwing Marla behind him and then backing from the bear while Jessica snatched up a small piece of pipe and threw it at the bear.

"Over here!" she called. Charlie looked at her in disbelief but soon realized what she was doing when Lamar and John started to move against the back wall. It was a distraction. "Over here, Freddy! Look at me!"

"Y-Yeah! Come on, Bear, what are you going to do?! Just… Stand there?!" Carlton challenged. He looked at the scrap before grabbing up something, only to realize halfway through that it was an endoskeleton head. "How about trying this on for size?!" He got over it quickly before throwing it at Freddy. Except that Freddy wasn't looking at him. It wasn't looking at Jessica either.

It was staring directly at Charlie. Unlike Twisted Bonnie, who didn't notice her at all, Twisted Freddy was staring directly at her.

Suddenly it barreled at her at a slow but steady pace. Stomping through the metal to try and get to the Security Puppet.

"Get back!" Charlie warned as she ran in the direction of the furnace.

Carlton and Marla were forced out of the way as it closed in across the room, pinning the puppet between the conveyor belts and furnaces. It took a swipe at her, clawed hand cupped as though preparing to scoop her in, and in a last-ditch effort to escape, she climbed into the furnace. It was the last place she wanted to be. The metal was deceptively cold, but she knew that it would heat up quickly, and unlike the vent she wouldn't have a chance to get out.

Twisted Freddy tried to reach in after her, leaning its bulky body over the belt and the control panel to do so. Its bulk started to press at the buttons, leading to a loud beeping noise coming from inside the furnace. John was the first to realize that the bear was going to inadvertently turn the furnace on from this alone and ran over, snatching up a thin piece of rebar on the way. He knew hitting it would do nothing, so he skipped right to trying to jam the metal into the back of its neck.

Freddy let out a low groan as the metal slipped past the gap in its fabric and struck against its metal neck. At first it tried to twist its neck to get the annoying piece loose, claw scraping along the inside of the furnace as it tried desperately to reach the puppet inside. John used all his strength to pull the rebar down, which started to peel the fabric on the back of its head upwards. Once he saw an opening, he jammed it in harder.

Its blue eyes flicked in malfunction before it finally turned its attention on the man. It pulled its arm free from the furnace and swung back so hard that it knocked all the wind out of John, and he landed flat on his back on the tiled floor. It shifted its head and neck around like it was uncomfortable as it stiffly shuffled to face him. Then, without warning, it grabbed for him by the shoulders and started to drag him close.

John fought against the tight grip as the claws dug against his shoulders. Both of its teeth filled maws were aimed towards him as it pulled him closer, shoving his cheek against the cold metal teeth of its belly. Lamar ran in to try to grab for his friend while Carlton started to dig around through the scrap for any sort of weapon. But they were running out of time, as evident by the bear's trembling teeth.

It was now that Charlie dared to come out of the furnace. Bracing herself, she scrambled across the conveyor belt and jumped off behind the bear, grabbing the rebar and trying to yank it down with her weight.

Twisted Freddy's eyes flickered again and once again it shoved John down onto the floor, knocking Lamar back. It swung its body around and Charlie attempted to hold on, only to be slung over the conveyor belt again. Freddy turned to face her as she turned over to climb off the other side of the belt.

She just wasn't fast enough.

Freddy's arms collapsed upon her and its fingers dug into her jacket. It then began to yank her back off the conveyor and smooth into the opening on its belly. She tried to thrash and fight against it as her hands grabbed the edge of the conveyor belt. Her music blared louder in growing panic as her legs grazed past the faux teeth and into its storage tank.

"Charlie!" Jessica shrieked in horror. She snatched up an old, footless, animatronic leg off the ground and started to swing it against the bear's arm. "No! No, no, Charlie, no!"

Charlie grew frantic as her knees hit the back of the bear's storage tank. She was forced to bend them and was slowly pushed into herself like she would fit into a tight box. All the while she reached back to claw at the bear above her. She managed to get her hand onto his lower jaw and fit some of her strings into his teeth, slowing the process by forcibly holding herself up, but she just wasn't strong enough to hold long. Steadily, Freddy continued working her into the darkness of his gullet.

The others rushed in. Next was John, then Lamar, then Marla and Carlton at the same time, grabbing what they could off the floor to use as tools. Some tried to distract the bear, such as Marla who threw whatever she could at its head and Lamar who prodded the legs in an attempt to trip it up. John and Carlton came up with the same idea and started to jam longer pieces into the gaping maw to try and pry it open, as it was slowly closing the further Charlie got inside. Jessica dropped the leg and grabbed Charlie around the chest to try and drag her out.

But it was in vain. Twisted Freddy gave a slow swing of his arm and even though he wasn't too much taller than them, even though he moved so sluggishly he knocked Carlton and Lamar off in one swing. His other arm moved a little faster, going for John and Jessica. She managed to duck while the claw caught John by the head. It could've crushed his skull, but it did nothing more than shove him back.

Then Freddy got his large hands on Jessica and slowly pushed her back. It was sadistically slow; if not for the dead look in its eyes, she would've assumed it took some pleasure from ripping Charlie out of her grasp. Soon she only had ahold of Charlie's arm, and in this second Freddy's body seized and his torso lurched, tossing the Security Puppet further back into it. It then bit down to seal her away, with only that single arm still able to fit out through the teeth.

The ringing no longer resembled any semblance to music. It was loud, sharp, sounding like a panicked wail. Jessica realized quickly that Charlie was screaming.

The only noise loud enough to overtake it being a strange electrical noise followed by a loud clang that came from one of the doors in the room. The ringing was then deafened by the shriek of chiming music.

All at once, something black and white flew through the air and hit the bear directly in the chest. Though it almost looked like Twisted Freddy staggered before he was hit, like something invisible hit him beforehand. There, now clawing at its chest and trying to pry open the faux mouth was the puppet she recognized from Foxy's, Marionette.

As it had been with Charlie, Freddy seemed almost fixated on Marionette and swung at him, but this puppet was quick. He easily swung back out of the way before pouncing on its arm when it was left vulnerable, wrapping his strings around it, crawling around its back, nearly spinning around its other arm to get it tangled, and then tightening its strings to tether the arms together. He slipped between its legs, pulled tight enough to drop it onto its back, and climbed up its belly to try prying it open again.

"Get back!" a new voice called. Jessica looked over in time to see Mike sprint by and go for the bear as well. He still had his taser in hand, which he had used to get the door open, but one look at the situation Charlie was in made him realize he couldn't use it. He attached it back to his belt with a swear and began trying to help Marionette pry open the mouth. Even though the teeth were for show they were sharp and painfully dug into his palm as he tried to pry the hatch open.

In the end it wasn't a mouth though, it was just a storage tank, which meant that it wouldn't hold forever. Not once Mike grabbed up one of the dropped items and began using it as a lever to get Freddy's gut open. Slowly the mouth was opened, and Marionette reached inside while Mike grabbed Charlie's free arm. They began to pull together and mixed with Charlie's own attempts to push herself until she was dragged out of the body of the fallen beast.

Marionette released his strings from Twisted Freddy long enough to get Charlie back away from it. He clutched her to his chest, her stumbling over the unreliable footing with a wild look in her eyes. Mike waited to make sure the strings were fully recoiled before he took his taser off his belt again and moved in. If his suspicion was right, then this one too would go down from a good jolt of electricity in the right spot.

It wasn't until Mike got within arm's reach that the hideous Freddy suddenly reacted. It swung at him with a vicious but slow swing, claws cutting through the air as easily as they would clothing. The security guard easily stepped out of the way and looked for an opening as the massive bear turned its arms back to push itself off the mound of scrap metal. As it sat upright its blue eyes stared right past Mike, and to his dread he realized it was still staring down the puppets. Marionette held Charlie tighter and she stared at the bear in horror.

Mike had no intention of letting Freddy get anywhere near them, let alone the others in the room, and he wielded his taser tightly as he tried to think through a plan. As it wobbled onto its feet, he realized that its metal spots were limited. Either he was going to have to shock the claws and hope it carried the current into its body or he would have to risk sticking his arm back into the open cavity in its belly.

It stood upright and took a single heavy step towards them. It could get no further than that before there was a loud banging noise as something landed heavily on the floor. He looked back to see that Baby had leapt down the short stairs in a single bound and was now staring down the twisted animatronic. Mike caught one glimpse of her glowing green eyes and stepped aside.

Baby quickly skated towards the conveyor belt and, avoiding the scrap heap all together, hurdled herself over it. She raised her claw in a position to strike and, as he only had eyes for the puppets, he never saw her coming until she struck. But instead of lashing out blindly as she usually did, Baby had a plan. She grabbed Freddy's wrist in a vice grip, stepped halfway past it, and used her raw strength to twist its arm and throw it onto its back again. She went for its neck but her claw struggling against the thick fabric.

Mike realized that this was his chance and ran over. "Hold open his chest!" he commanded. Baby looked to him, looked down at the maw, and then surprisingly obeyed. She easily forced the storage tank open to its fullest extent. With the bottom of the metal storage tank open to him, Mike gripped the taser tighter and shoved it inside. He delivered a firm shock to the storage tank and through the endoskeleton inside.

The deformed bear began to seize like it was made of springlocks and the mouth on its belly tried to slam shut. Suddenly something that had only been dolled up to look dangerous became a very real threat. If Baby wouldn't have been able to stop the hatch from closing it would've sliced straight through his arm in one swift motion, so it was beyond fortunate that the metal teeth on the suit were apparently not connected to the endoskeleton, meaning she didn't get a residual shock.

Mike still held the taser to the back of the bear's tank until the lights abruptly faded from its eyes. He then yanked back his arm and Baby let go, letting it slam shut on itself. For a moment they just stood there, crouched in Mike's case, and looked down at the down animatronic.

Then without warning, Baby suddenly raised a skate and stomped down on Freddy's face, smooshing in its nose and breaking both of its eyes. As if one last act of defiance before she hastily turned and skated around the conveyor. She glided past her onlookers smoothly and seemed to leer at them as she did. Jessica especially felt her gaze linger and it almost startled her, if the clown's appearance didn't do it alone. She made it to the stairs and quickly climbed them in a few large steps before skating past the window and disappearing.

Mike was staring after her when he was brought out of it by a voice behind him. He recognized it as Marla. "Did- Did you kill it?" she asked. He tried to ignore the surge of panic- Good God, they saw Marionette moving- and turned back towards them with what looked like a moderately annoyed look, covering his much less composed feelings once he counted up how many witnesses were standing behind him.

"Yeah, and I would've gotten away with it too if it wasn't for your meddling kids," Mike dryly said as he turned to them with his hands on his hips. "What in the hell are you kids doing down here?" Their silence was telling, almost as telling as the fact that while some of them were looking towards Charlie, none of them looked shocked to see her. The almost looked at her with concern and familiarity, which was a red flag. He huffed and asked, "Let me guess, you all figured out the big secret of what makes Foxy and friends so 'lifelike'. That's just great."

Jessica had been looking towards the two puppets and was starting to put the last few pieces together. What Charlie said mixed with seeing Mike and the puppet together filled the blank spaces.

She looked to Mike and said with no uncertainty, "You really didn't do it. You had nothing to do with any of the children going missing, not at Freddy's, not at Magictime Theater. All this time the only thing you were hiding was that the animatronics were alive, and you hid it because Charlie became one after she died."

"You're right, I didn't do it. I don't know what evidence Burke has other than me being suspicious, but I don't see that holding up to a reasonable doubt," Mike said matter-of-factly, deciding not to comment on the rest. he noticed Carlton in the bunch and narrowed his eyes at him. "I should've known you'd be involved somehow."

Carlton gave an awkward smile, mostly because of everything he just witnessed. Lamar leaned close to his shoulder and quietly whispered, "Was that the clown?" He shook his head curtly and Lamar's eyes widened.

"We came to find the truth. We heard about what Clay was doing and it didn't add up… And then we were attacked by Bonnie and Charlie saved us, and that's how we found out," John explained.

Charlie felt that creeping dread at the reveal and wondered if Marionette was terribly disappointed. He wasn't moving at all and his grip did seem uncomfortably tight. It wasn't until she started to stand on her own that she realized he wasn't gripping her in anger. He was as stiff as a statue and unable to move. It was his programming, he couldn't handle all the unfamiliar stares, causing him to go dormant.

Ignoring the conversation around them, Charlie wrapped her arms back around Marionette and gave a few quiet rings, both out of apology for what she dragged him in to and thankfulness for what he dragged her out of. She kept her voice quiet as she assured him, "They're not going to tell. I already explained why they couldn't... I'm sorry. This wasn't supposed to happen, but I couldn't let them get hurt." Marionette slightly nodded. "If you and Mike wouldn't have gotten here… Thanks."

As she trailed off, he held her more securely, giving a low trill. He wasn't fighting to speak but he wanted her to know how happy he was that she was alright. She unexpectedly drew away and slowly started to step towards her friends, drawing him by the wrist. He knew what she was doing and was reluctant, but he didn't resist it. He just forced himself to move like he would on the showroom floor.

"Everybody, this is Marionette. He's the one who brought me back and he and Mike were the ones who rescued the kids at the arcade, including Jason and Chrissy," Charlie introduced. Marionette forced himself together to give a decent introduction, not willing to leave a bad impression. In these circumstances he had to be as human as possible. So, he gave a greeting chime and a short bow, one like he would give from his stage. It was easier if he pretended that they were just an audience.

"I knew something was off with the Puppet…" Carlton mumbled. Of course he had thought it equated more to Mike, not that he would see it moving on its own. Marla, who was beside him, barely acknowledged this as she took a step closer. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the striped animatronic and for her everything suddenly made much more sense. She stilled herself enough to speak.

"So… So, you saved Jason. Thank you," Marla said. Her voice sounded overwhelmed, though probably more from the fight that just ensued instead of him. She managed a smile. "He's my brother you know, and if anything would've happened to him… I love him so much. We wouldn't have been able to go on without him." Carlton put an arm around her to help comfort her as it sounded like she was becoming emotional. That managed smile became much warmer. "Thank you both, really."

Marionette chimed as his answer, so Mike spoke for them both. "No need to thank us. We're just glad the kids were found safe," he said with more honesty.

"But… What's going on down here?" Marla added a little more desperately. "What are those things? Are they animatronics? Why are they hunting us?!" She pointed towards the downed Freddy and Mike leered at it.

"I don't know, but if you saw Bonnie then that means the gang's all here. We took out Chica in the other rooms and Foxy's in the vents. The Foxy that's like this I mean, Freakshow Foxy… I think they might be guarding something. I don't know if you ran into any of them, but there's traps rigged up too, and that mixed with these makes me think someone's trying to keep us out," Mike said as he crossed his arms thoughtfully. "Not that the locked doors and snares do anything other than keep us in."

"We didn't find anything in here other than Bonnie. I'd say we covered good ground on the first floor too," Jessica explained with a disappointed tone. "Have you checked the rest of the basement? Are you sure there's not something that might've been missed?"

"There's always a chance but I've been walking all over this basement and nothing's jumping out at me except robots."

Marionette leaned closer to Charlie and whispered to her. His voice was skipping and staticky, still effected by his programming, but he asked, "Di- you go upsta-rs?" She sent him a confused look and he pointed up.

That was when her mind went back to the stairwell, along with the stairs in the hallway that she saw leading upwards. She looked between Mike and her friends. "Isn't there a second floor? Did anyone check it?"

Mike raised his brows thoughtfully. "We didn't. You all?" The group members shook their heads and the security guard dropped his arms. "Then that settles it. That's where we're heading next." He started heading to the door before stopping and looking back, pointing his taser at the younger humans. "Just to clarify, 'us' would be me and these two." He pointed to the two puppets. "You all should take off while you still can."

"We've come this far, that's too far to turn back now. There's no leaving while we're all a part of this. We know too much to walk out with a clean slate," John said as he looked to the others for validation. Jessica gave a nod of agreement and neither Carlton, Marla, nor Lamar disagreed with him. He looked back to Mike. "And you need backup." Mike quirked a brow almost in a challenge. "An alibi backup. Who's to say that whatever is here just gets covered up right after you find it? It would be your word against the police."

"And your word against your own word," Carlton added in. Mike looked to him in confusion. "Dad's been tapping your phone."

"You better be kidding," Mike muttered. Carlton gave a sympathetic half smile and shook his head. So that was how he knew about the animatronics. Mike took a moment to process that information, emotions flittering across his face before he looked to Marionette, who was now turned away from them and looking towards him. Most likely because his mask shifted to a look of equal horror, lips pressed tight and eyes wide. Realizing they were stuck with limited options; Mike began to cave to the idea.

"They're Charlie's friends, they're not going set us up if it means getting her in trouble. Not with how they all acted at the funeral…" Mike took a deep breath. "Alright, we'll all go. Happy?"

"Not especially," Lamar chimed up. "It's like we're damned if we do or damned if we don't."

"Yeah, well, welcome to my life," Mike muttered as he headed out the security door. "Stairs are back this way. Stay close."

Marionette took Charlie's hand and began to follow him silently. He kept her close protectively and after all that happened she didn't draw away, simply taking care to make sure her friends followed.

It didn't take long to get back to the first floor. Even though Mike had taken the stairs twice he was careful as he climbed them and stepped into the hall cautiously. Seeing no sign of 'Freakshow Foxy', he began to lead them towards the stairs, Marionette now following closely beside him. Right when they were about to climb the steps, the distant sound of laughter suddenly echoed through the hall.

Carlton's heart skipped a beat and his eyes widened as he realized that he recognized that laugh. He stopped on the spot, as did a few of the others.

"What was that?" Jessica asked, disturbed by it. It was understandable though considering what they had faced. It was much less unsettling for the puppets, who exchanged uneasy looks.

"Don't worry about that. That's just Scott looking around. He's on Burke's hit list too so he's walking around in a full Freddy Fazbear getup trying to fool anything he runs into. Just him getting into character," Mike smoothly lied as he started up the stairs to the second floor. The others seemed a little uneasy but followed, all except for Carlton.

He was still staring back down the hall when Marla noticed. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"…Actually… I think I'm going to stay down here and keep an eye out," Carlton excused. He turned back to her. "Just in case one of those things comes back we'll have some warning. You go ahead."

"If you're sure. Just… Be careful." She kissed him on the cheek and turned to climb the stairs, only to stop abruptly. "Oh whoa, wait a minute." He thought from that tone that she caught on, but then she looked back to him in shock and whispered frantically, "The Puppet's not moving his legs at all! It's just floating up the steps!" Carlton leaned over to see past her.

"You're right," he deduced. "…Okay, still not weirdest thing I've seen today, but it's up there." He didn't make a big deal out of it though and instead just watched Marla head up the stairs with the others.

For a moment he wondered if he was making the right decision, but he needed his own answers. So, once they were up in the second floor he turned and headed down the hallway, following the laughter.

As he got closer, Carlton realized that he could hear two voices. One of them sounded like the other man he heard on his father's recordings, Scott, which would go along with what Mike said. The second sounded just like that laugh, which went along fine with what Charlie had said. The clown was here with them. He eventually tracked the voices down the hall and back towards the front room. He was standing just past the elevator when he noticed the opened double doors and realized he could see something standing just outside them.

It looked like a Freddy Fazbear but taking in Mike's words explained this. Especially when the voice still resembled the one on the tape. "-But even though they didn't want the risk that had become associated with Afton Robotics, they really didn't want to put in the effort either. Henry and Will really were the drive behind making the animatronics and Fazbear Entertainment was just… A boardroom that bought out Freddy's once Henry was out of the picture… And then pretty much sold itself back to Will without knowing it," Scott was explaining.

Carlton leaned in a little more so he could listen but not enough that he could be seen.

"So, even though it looks like they dropped everything and left, I think they just, you know, they did that but just because they were abandoning the business. I don't know if you got a good look at Chica, but she didn't look… She looked old and dusty, but she didn't look like she's been wandering around long. Like she was closed-up in a room somewhere, you know? Too clean." Scott trailed off for a moment. "I hope the cats are okay…"

"I don't know. What would they be charged with? Cat-napping? Im-purr-sonating an officer? Ha ha, aww don't worry, Scott! They'll be fine! You're the one they want to throw in jail."

"Oh right, I forgot. That makes me feel a lot better," Scott said but sounded at least a little amused. Mostly nervous though. "Hey, uh, be careful with that. I think that's for drilling in bolts."

"So, you're saying I shouldn't stick it up to my eye…?" There's was a crackle of laughter that followed, familiar laughter. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna blind myself! If I did, how would I get to see you rocking your Freddy ensemble? Hey, we're bringing that home, right? I could use that for next Halloween!"

It was so strange. When Carlton had heard the clown in the sewers it was mocking and seemingly aggressive, but here it was chatting away like nothing, like Charlie had been. He had to get a closer look and see the rest of it, see if it was just some little clown that squeezed itself into the sewers and had been trying to scare him off.

Right then he heard something that almost sounded like a cart being wheeled behind him and turned back to look. His eyes met a pair of glowing green ones. He jumped back with a quiet 'gah'.

It was the female clown from earlier now standing right behind him. Much to Carlton's horror, he recognized her traits as being very similar to the Circus Baby animatronic he had researched before.

"Hello again. You don't know me, but I know you," Baby spoke. Her voice was deceptively quiet and calm, but no less threatening. It sent a chill down his spine as he froze under her gaze. Her eyes slowly slid over to the door before returning to him again. It was less like she was even looking and more just doing the motion to signal to him. "Watching him again? That can be dangerous."

How did she know about him seeing the clown? Had she been there too, hiding in the sewer? He swallowed thickly and attempted to speak, "I'm just-."

"You are just getting in the way. You and your father. Especially your father," Baby sourly spat. She rolled closer and his eyes dropped to the large claw clamped at her side. It wasn't easy to forget that she had been capable of taking down Twisted Freddy on her own, so he was aware of her strength. She could tear straight through him. "I don't care if you are one of Charlie's "friends". Stay away from him."

"Uh, the clown?" Carlton nervously asked.

"Yes, the clown. I know about you watching him. You stay away from him." She became more threatening as she rolled in closer. "We have been through too much to have you and your foolish father ruin it." She was only becoming more agitated, twitching lightly and a low static growing in her chest, rolling only closer. It was loud enough that it almost dulled the creaking sounds slowly growing in the elevator.

"I'm not going to do anything to him. I just saw him and I couldn't-."

"Even imagine what you were looking at. You still can't. You and your friends are in too deep," Baby bitterly reminded him. She glanced downwards for a moment and away as her voice grew quieter. It was clear that she was irritated and yet this wasn't helping. She was restraining herself to deal with him like a human, like everyone would want her to be, and yet it wasn't enough. "She's not like you anymore."

Carlton got a more confused look, realizing that she meant Charlie but not knowing why or what she meant. Baby realized she said too much and fell silent momentarily.

It was during this pause that they both noticed the sound of the elevator doors opening. Baby raised her head while Carlton looked past her in confusion, especially when the doors opened to what looked to be a dark and empty shaft. The clown slowly turned her head to look back as well and cocked it slightly when she heard something clatter inside.

A long hook suddenly lashed out and dragged across the tile floor with a screech.

A heavy head full of sharp teeth fell out of the elevator as the other hand grabbed at the side. Its body lurch up and out, crawling out onto the floor, revealing its rotten fabric and gaping metal pieces. This had to be the Twisted Foxy that Marionette had warned her about and as it raised its head, eyes glowing aggressively, she knew it was going to be a problem.

Suddenly it lunged upwards and got its feet underneath itself in a heartbeat, running towards the two of them while its eye stayed on Carlton. Baby was quick to move out of the way just enough to swing out and clothesline it when it got too close. Carlton stumbled back against the hallway wall as Twisted Foxy, now downed continued to crawl towards him. Baby came up behind it and swung her claw down on its back, knocking it further down onto its belly, and almost taking it immediately out of commission.

But this Foxy was not ready to give up. Even though it didn't seem to notice her, it did notice that something was attacking it. It swung its hook back unsettlingly close to her neck and she yanked back. In this moment the mutated fox completely rolled itself over, bowed its head down, and unexpectedly rammed into her headfirst. The strength was enough to send her wheeling back across the hall and careening into the elevator.

Baby gasped in shock as she tried to stop herself but could direct her skates in time. Once the first one dropped in she was falling. Her upper half landed heavily on the ledge and she barely hooked her clawed arm around the edge of the door to hold herself up. It wasn't a good grip and all her weight was currently threatening to pull her down, even as she scraped her feet on the side of the shaft, struggling for footing.

This left Carlton entirely on his own with Twisted Foxy. It continued to crawl towards him and he was forced to turn and run for the double doors. It was only then that Foxy clamored to its feet and began shuffling after him, slower than him but faster than Twisted Freddy had been.

Carlton got to the open doors and was about to run through to safety when he was stopped in his tracks by an equally horrifying sight. There, standing in the room close to the Freddy Fazbear suit, was the clown.

Except even with his glimpses of the clown, he never expected it to be as terrifying as it was right now. It was taller than a human, about seven feet and least, and its body was a mess of wires tangled and laid together to give it a human-like structure. Really the only thing that looked like a clown was that mask, and in this light Carlton could even see the sharp teeth hiding behind it.

It was staring him down too, as was the man dressed as Freddy who gave a gasp and started to stutter over his words. Nobody moved fast enough to avoid Twisted Foxy suddenly diving into Carlton's side and sending them both sprawling to the tiled floor. He tried to push back and his fingers sunk into the fabric like it was a wad of dough. The animatronic reeked of stagnation that now seeped into his clothes.

Before Carlton could really fight, the hook was swung down and pressed up against the center of his throat. He could barely swallow without the point pressing deeper into his skin. Foxy leaned in closer and spread its wide jaws threateningly, showing the deep maw behind it, and went still with its mouth poised right above his head. It had plenty of time to move and attack, but instead it just kept him pinned, silently threatening to gore him if he moved even an inch.

Both Scott and Ennard saw when the deformed Foxy tackled the young man past the door. Scott gawked in horror and looked to Ennard, expecting him to spring into action. Instead the clown was uncharacteristically stuck in place, body and loose wires twitching after a few seconds. "Ennard?!" the man blurted out. Finally, the amalgam looked at him, but his glassy gaze looked distant. Almost like he was in shock.

Scott knew what this Foxy was capable of. In moments he could have his hook lodged into the young man, so Scott knew he had to do something if Ennard wasn't going to. Running on adrenaline, he ran through the doors- as much as he could in the suit- and took only a second to see Twisted Foxy pinning Carlton before trying to shove it off. The disfigured fox wobbled but kept his hook poised at Carlton's throat.

"Ennard, we need your help!" Scott called out as he boldly reached down and grabbed at the fox's wrist. It was clubbed and gnarled like a knot of wood, but spongey like costume fabric, and he started prying it back.

Just like when Baby started to step in, Twisted Foxy's aggression suddenly switched to Scott. It ripped its arm back before taking a long swing behind it. Scott ducked back to dodge the hook, but it was too quick and lodged itself into the equally old fabric of the plush suit. But to his horror it didn't slice straight through, but get stuck inside of it, and as Scott staggered back the mangled Foxy was still dangling off.

Its weight was holding him back as he tried to pull himself away. Panicked, he reached forward to shove Foxy back, and it craned its neck sickeningly and bit into the suit's arm. The teeth sunk in so deeply that he could feel them brushing his skin before they stopped, holding him in place as it started tugging at the fabric its hook was stuck into. The weight was suddenly too much as Scott stumbled and fell against the wall.

He gave out one more panicked cry, "He's got me!"

That was what finally did it. He heard the thundering footsteps before wires were suddenly tangling around Twisted Foxy. Ennard wrapped his arms around the fox, some of his wires coming free and forcing their way into its cracks and crevices, as his hand grabbed the clubbed wrist and twisted it enough to free the hook. He then tightened his arms around Twisted Foxy's neck, shifting strangely, almost completely silent as he shifted and fit further around him. Scott watched in silent horror, not sure what Ennard was doing but realizing that Twisted Foxy was starting to fight back.

Until suddenly all Ennard's wires tightened around the fox. There was a sickening cracking noise as its head twisted slightly and its eyes grew dark. Once the wires started to loosen, its body fell limply to the floor while its head stayed in the clown's hands. Ennard gave a static filled hum, one that almost sounded like a sigh, and simply dropped the head to the floor. He then slowly turned his head towards the onlooker.

Carlton had gotten himself off the floor but now he was practically trapped in the corner. He knew without a doubt that this was the clown he had seen in the sewer. Ennard stared back at him with that same, uncharacteristic silence. Scott was still trying to catch his breath against the wall when he noticed the scene and silent stare.

"I need help." Baby's voice caught Scott off-guard and he looked over to see the situation she was still stuck in. He choked on his breath and started to hurry over, only to stop and come back for Ennard, knowing he would need him. He tugged his arm to get his attention.

"Ennard, you have to get Baby," Scott said firmly. Ennard looked to him, then past him, and finally reacted when he saw Baby still hanging in the elevator shaft.

"Cr-Cr-Crrriipes!" Ennard crackled in his undisguised voice. He then made a mad dash over to the elevator to help her up. He planted one foot against the wall and grabbed her claw and hand to pull her up.

With that being dealt with, Scott turned back to the young man who was still standing there and seeing everything. He put the pieces together and realized that it had to be one of Charlie's friends. He tried to keep calm as he asked, "Were you hurt?" The younger man gave him an uneasy look and Scott raised a hand in defense. "It's okay. This is just a suit, see?" He pushed up the head enough to show part of his face. "You're safe, okay? Just… Trust me. They're not- They're not like…"

"He already knows," Baby suddenly chimed in. Scott looked back towards her. "He's already seen Charlie and Marion… Among other things," she murmured as she glanced towards Ennard. He was back to staring dead ahead at the unknown young man and being uncharacteristically silent. Even around strangers this seemed odd, though Scott hadn't seen him around many strangers. Save the employees of Foxy's when they had been in the basement, but in that case he had known they would be safe.

It wasn't until Scott looked back to Carlton when he suddenly remembered that earlier Ennard had blatantly warned about 'watching for a redhead'. Somehow, he knew at that second that there was something Ennard hadn't told him, and the only reason he didn't dwell on it long was because he realized he recognized the young man from somewhere. Maybe from the Pirate Cove Halloween party.

"Well, uh…" Scott cleared his throat and evened his tone. "As I was saying, you're safe… Or, uh, safer. I mean, as long as we're in this place… I'm sure you've seen some of what's going on. This place isn't exactly safe, but if you stay with us, you'll have a better chance."

But Carlton was barely listening. He was too busy rethinking everything about the clown, about Mike and Scott, and about his father, because he was starting to see a different picture painted before him.

"Wait, was Dad listening to Mike and Scott because of the animatronics? He's already got Freddy in the basement…" His eyes widened silently. "Is that it?! Is he trying to find these animatronics, is that his plan?!"

"Hey, uh… You are okay, right? The hook didn't get you anywhere?" Scott asked. He was clearly concerned by Carlton's silence, more so than the clowns currently standing on guard behind him.

Carlton shook his head before forcing out, "I'm alright… Just a little shook up."

"That's understandable. Let's get you up." Scott offered his gloved hands and helped him to his feet. He then started to usher him out to the front room, sending a quick glance back at the two clowns and hoping they would keep a safe distance. "We'll just wait out here where it's… Less dangerous."

As soon as they were out of the hall, Baby looked towards Ennard. "You will need to be more careful. The only reason he won't talk is because of Charlie," she said. The amalgam was remarkably silent as he stared at the floor. "…But for now you are off the hook. Charlie already let herself get seen."

"She held out longer than I did," Ennard said as he switched to his usual voice again. "At least I got to traumatize him for life."

Baby wondered if that would work with Charlie's other friends. Somehow she doubted it would keep them away now that they knew everything, and that disappointed her immensely.

Mable: Looks like Baby's going to have to share her friend… Such a shame that Baby's not exactly on board with sharing.