Mable: Here we are once again! First thing's first, the hard game that they were playing the last episode was actually a more difficult version of Ghosts n' Goblins, which can already be a pretty frustrating game. Trust me, I tried taking on that challenge… Then again, as much as I love games I am honestly pretty bad at anything that isn't Oddworld. XD But there were a lot of good guesses! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Fifteen
With a gasping choke he sat upwards in bed and stared across the dark bedroom. His nightlight barely illuminated any of the shadowy corners. The only thing really visible was the corner by the door, his nightstand, his music box, and he slid out from under the covers. He crept to the door and slowly creaked it open, relieved to have it open easily to him. In the faded light he could see the grandfather clock on the other side of the hallway, looming in the darkness as it chimed out the signal that it was indeed midnight. He didn't shut his door as he headed down the hallway.
The light was on in the kitchen and he looked in to see his father standing at the counter fast at work. It looked like he was cooking something, but it seemed odd to be cooking so late. He moved a little closer when his father suddenly looked back. "What are you doing awake so late? It's past your bedtime." He had a friendly smile and it relieved his son. "Let's get you back to bed. You have a long day tomorrow." He took his hand and began to lead him back down the hall. For a moment the son felt relief, but as he looked back to the kitchen he was uneasy.
There was a plastic sheet covering whatever his father was preparing and while he couldn't see it, he had an uncomfortable suspicion that it was meat. His father guided him into his bedroom and watched him as he got back in bed. "Now Dad needs to finish some things, Sport," he started to wind the music box again. He wanted to tell him that he was scared and wanted to ask to stay with him. He wanted to follow his father out the door as well, but as his father slowly turned around he suddenly felt very unsafe. "There you go. All set for the night."
This wasn't how his father usually spoke, how his father usually acted, and he watched him head to the door and step out. The second the door shut he could hear the whispers from outside, two voices instead of one, but he couldn't make out any words. It was just his father talking to someone. For a second he wondered if it was his brother and started to inch out of bed. The second his ankle got close to the edge of the bed, a hook suddenly appeared and hooked onto it, holding his leg tightly to the bed. He tried to yank his leg away weakly as the hook held him.
Slowly a familiar figure started to slide into view out from under the bed. There was Foxy… Or most of him. The animatronic was missing his head and left a gaping hole where his neck once was. Once he was about at the same height as his prey, he began to tilt forwards until he could see right into the neck. A child's face stared back at him. One that looked almost like his brother's except younger and with wide smile on his face. His mouth opened slowly and revealed an empty void inside. Out of echoed a howling groan, like wind down an empty tunnel.
The son cried out and turned over, trying to drag himself out of the fox's grasp. It gave a grisly, echoed laugh as it watched him struggle. His leg was released and he collapsed to the floor, scurrying to the door and grabbing onto the handle. He tried desperately to get the door open but the handle didn't even turn. It was locked from the other side. He started to bang his fists on the door desperately, trying to get some sort of attention from his father. His voice wouldn't respond under any circumstances and his arms started to give out. He dared to look back.
Foxy had disappeared into the shadows. This made it a lot less urgent, but it didn't change the predicament the he was in. He pressed his back to the door and brought his knees to his chest, weeping as he studied the room carefully. There didn't seem to be anything askew but he knew something was still wrong. It was interrupted by a soft tapping on the door and a soft 'psst' noise. He turned to listen against the door. His father's voice echoed through, "You can't save them all, Sport. Sometimes you have to just pull the plug."
The second he said this the night light suddenly died and a sharp beeping noise screeched in his ears. The son went into a frenzy and stumbled around before getting back to the door and trying it. This time the bedroom door swung open and revealed the state of the house outside. The hallway was cold and the floor was soaking wet. However, there was still the sound of movement in the kitchen, so he assumed this meant that his father was still there. He hurried down the hall, passing midway through the living room before he saw that it wasn't his father.
The large form of Chica stood in the kitchen as though waiting to ambush him. The second it saw him she began to stagger out of the kitchen. The son turned on his heel and started towards his father's bedroom instead. Halfway down the hall, Foxy jumped out of an open doorway, swinging his claw and trying to catch their victim. he continued to the master bedroom and hurried inside, slamming the door behind him. For a second he sat there like that, then dared to turn away. He regretted it immediately.
What he hadn't seen when first entering the bedroom was the closet, the doors open and a light seemingly emanating from it, and the figure of his father inside. The man was strung by wires around his neck and arms, slouching against them and not moving, and dark fluid leaked from his fingertips. The son stared numbly for a few moments and then looked to the window. He knew he had to escape and hurried over to try and open it. The glass pane slid upwards slowly under his weak strength and by time it got about halfway he heard a strange noise from behind him.
He turned his head just enough to see what was happening; the wires on his father had spread and were now crawling around the bed and trying to reach him. He continued to raise the window higher and tried to squeeze through. The second his head was out, his ankles were tethered by the wires, climbing his body. He struggled against them as they climbed his arms, him inching just a small bit out the window. So close to freedom. So close to escaping the hold of the house. The wires climbed his neck and a tube of plastic appeared at his mouth, trying to push past his lips.
In one instance he got further and in that moment the wires suddenly released him, dropping him into a puddle of mud that pooled underneath the window. He didn't waste a second before he began crawling through the wet grass and stood to run down the sidewalk into the pouring rain. He didn't remember it being behind the house, but it seemed to be the only option he had for getting away. The path led him down through various backyards and parks, where multiple children played limply on the equipment. They lolled through the motions, with somber faces and grayed skin.
While he didn't approach the children, he didn't fear them. He didn't feel like he was able to approach them and knew they couldn't help him.
"Where are you?!"
The voice suddenly broke out from the night, from far behind him. He quickened his pace again as the voice called afterwards. It was familiar, but he couldn't recognize it beyond the knowledge that he was dangerous. That he would eagerly hurt him. The park area was left behind for a stretch of concrete, a parking lot, and he knew he had to hide wherever he could. This was the only reason why when he saw the Pizzeria he didn't turn and flee. He could hear head footsteps and a creaking metal that came with them, thumping across the parking lot.
The front door was left ajar for him. His plan was to hide once inside, but all of the furniture in the Pizzeria was gone. No tables, no chairs, and even the other rooms had their entrances boarded. It was a straight shot into the dark Pizzeria and he continued inside quickly. The door slammed shut behind him and he almost preferred it, hoping it would keep out the one who was following him. He walked aimlessly in the dark for a short way with his arms stretched out. The tile floor was cold… And wet.
Light broke through the darkness and shined down in the center of the room. Directly in front of him, no more than fifteen feet away, was the slouched form of Fredbear. Its eyes were empty, its mouth was agape, and there was so much blood. This was the first sight of blood that he had seen and it sent a jolt of fear through his body. It was caked around Fredbear's mouth and down his front, then pooled between his legs. So much blood that it didn't seem possible that someone could bleed it. "Hey," a voice echoed through the restaurant, "Why don't you give him a big kiss?"
This was the last thing he wanted. He tried walking into the darkness but found nothing, and he never got any further away from Fredbear. He knew that this wasn't going to end until he moved closer. He took a step, two, hearing his pulse pounding in his ears along with the low sound of his music box winding down. He moved onto the puddle between Fredbear's legs and stared at his face. It stared back for only a moment. Then it struck, its arms suddenly clamping down on his body and yanking him closer. He couldn't even scream as it opened its mouth and guided him in.
It didn't stop at his head as he found himself being devoured whole by the monstrous bear. A tight confined space enclosed him as cords tangled around his body. He desperately struggled until he suddenly jolted, the music halting, and he recognized the square space surrounding him. In a desperate dash, he flung himself out of the box, dragging himself onto the carpeted floor in a frenzy. He was disoriented, a wreck, but the room was quiet and safe. He was entirely safe and he knew this, but the dream still clung to him like the wires had.
Marionette had not had an actual nightmare like this since before he was a Puppet. That alone left him feeling weak and yet he knew there was nothing he could do. "Sometimes you have to just pull the plug."
Mike awoke to the sound of his alarm clock and groaned, slamming his hand onto it in an attempt to silence it. It was back to work at an earlier shift and he was not looking forward to it. Slowly he sat up, deciding that he preferred coffee and actually making it to work on time instead of trying to sleep longer. He rubbed his face as he sat there and only barely noticed something beside the bed. He leaned over just a bit and looked down beside the bed. Further down, slightly sticking out from under the bed, was a small amount of striped fabric.
He started to move over closer and the fabric moved fully under the bed. Mike blinked in confusion, murmuring a soft 'what' to himself, and got out of bed. He knelt down beside it and leaned to look underneath. There was the Puppet laying under the bed. Mike noticed its face was different, though it would have been difficult to miss the complete lack of a smile. "Morning…. Is there any reason why you're down there?" Marionette didn't move or respond at first. "Are you coming out?" He shuffled a little, pulling his legs in closer, turning his head further towards the floor.
"Okay. I'm just going to get dressed…" Mike moved back and went to change into his uniform. It wasn't as though there was much else he could do anyway and expected that the animatronic would eventually slide out from under the bed and reveal himself. By time Mike was finished though, Marionette was still under the bed and had made no attempt to come out from underneath. It was even more confusing since Mike hadn't heard him come in during the night and certainly didn't understand why he had moved under the bed. Not when he laid on the bed before.
Mike looked under once again, "So I'm going to have to go to work. You're welcome to stay down here if you really want. Want me to get your music box or…?" Marionette reacted with an immediate, firm shake of his head. He didn't want to sleep and this was his only clue. With a patient exhale, the security guard finally reached under the bed. "Alright, you're coming out. Don't struggle." The Puppet tried to fidget away, but Mike got ahold of his arm and slid him closer, then was able to coax him out a bit more. He stopped once his upper half was freed.
"So what exactly happened last night?" Mike asked. They went from virtually nothing wrong to this in only a matter of hours; something was definitely wrong. "Don't start giving me the silent treatment now, I know- Did you tie yourself to something?" He could see the wires leading under the bed and was incredibly unimpressed at the others stubbornness. "Did something happen? Did you have a nightmare or something?" Marionette tensed for a split second and Mike caught on. "So that's it? You had a nightmare and decided to huddle under the bed?"
It didn't really make much sense to Mike and he insisted a little more further. "If you don't want to talk about it, Mari, we don't have to, but if you want to then I'm here… For the next ten to fifteen minutes." He knew in the back of his head that he needed to leave, but he didn't feel safe going when this was happening. He propped the limp figure himself and continued to try subtly freeing him from the bed. To his slight surprise, the strings had at some point vanished when he wasn't looking, but he was now stopped by movement.
Marionette tilted his head back to look upwards at Mike. Slowly a smile started to appear on his face. Usually it was just there and the Puppet's face, or mask, would change in an instant. This time it was slow movements as the flimsy smile appeared. "I'm such a baby," Marionette spoke as though he was joking, but his voice gave him away, humorless and empty. Purple fluid started to appear and Mike understood it all well enough. "No you're not. Look at me, I had a nightmare just a while ago about Foxy. He's not even scary." Eh, maybe a little scary considering last night.
He attempted to comfort the animatronic as he had in the past; he held him close, slowly petting his head, and stayed quiet to keep him calm. Marionette closed his eyes and managed to suppress the purple tears before they really started to flow. He could already feel himself relaxing and calming. Then again, he usually wasn't thrown out of his level headedness so easily. "You could've woke me up," Mike murmured in an even tone. Marionette gave a slight shake of the head and made a noise like an exhale, though it was strictly audible.
They stayed like that until the grandfather clock in the hallway began to pang, signaling that Mike needed to leave. "I can stay home if you need me to," he offered willingly. Marionette shook his head. "If you're sure. Can I at least move you onto the bed?" The Puppet didn't respond so the security guard just went ahead and dragged him onto the bed. The black and white animatronic limply laid there so he yanked a blanket over him. "I'll be back as soon as work's over. Try not to hang yourself before I get back," he tried to joke, hoping to ease the mood a little.
It turned really uncomfortable when Marionette again didn't respond. Not that Mike thought he would do it, but suddenly his comment felt extremely discomforting. "I'll be back." He headed down the hallway towards the front of the house and left for work. It wasn't long before he had an idea to help. He didn't even know what the nightmare was about, but he had a suspicion that this might possibly help. The hours passed quickly enough and after work he only had to make a couple of stops before returning home.
Marionette had to have left the bed at some point as now the Golden Freddy plush was propped on the other pillow and there was an opened tub of icing on the nightstand. Mike moved to stand beside the animatronic, staring down at his back as he was lying face down. "At least I didn't have to turn you over," Mike remarked with a more playful tone. Marionette was more responsive than earlier and almost eagerly turned over to face the security guard. He now had more of a blank look than anything, but his tears seemed to have stopped.
There was slight pink on his face instead of purple. Mike looked back to the icing, "Uh… No, I think I'd prefer not to know what you've been doing." This got a slight twitch like a smile for a second. He went with it further and reached out to take his hand, hoping to lead him out of bed, "I've got somewhere to take you. Think you're up to going?" Marionette grasped his hand and turned his head to press against it; his porcelain just as cool as it usually was. "…Lead the way." He rose to his normal levitation, preparing to follow Mike, but seemed much more hesitant.
"Where is it?" Marionette asked softly and Mike smiled reassuringly. "It's somewhere we have to drive, but it's worth it. I promise that you won't regret it, alright?" The Puppet remained silent as he followed along with his human companion. Once they were at the opened front door, Marionette vanished and Mike just assumed that he was in the car and locked the door. Soon he was driving in a random direction, relatively confident in what he was planning on doing. Marionette wasn't that interested; he just pretended to be a prop in the backseat.
He really wasn't feeling better. He felt less unnerved by the dream, but it was the ideas invading his mind that stuck with him. It wasn't what he saw, but what he had suspected, and he had all the time in the world to obsess over them. Though it was almost nice to be in a car again. Almost, but not quite as comfortable as one would expect. Levitation didn't react will with outside movement. He stared at the back of Mike's seat and considered saying something, but felt too unenthused to do so. Eventually Mike turned into a parking lot and drove behind a building.
He pulled up beside a door leading into the back of the building and shut the car off. "Nobody's around so if you want to come out with me it should be safe. The door's unlocked, so you don't have to wait for me." Marionette discretely slid out the front door behind Mike, following him to the door. The security guard stepped in first and took a brief look around to make sure it was empty. Once he was certain, he headed in further, leading him into the building. It was entirely empty of furnishings and dark, except for the light filtering through the windows.
The air carried a little dust and smelled musty, but seemed like it could be fixed with a few open windows. The windows were uncovered so Marionette made sure to keep an eye out for possible onlookers. The floor also needed sweeping but the tile seemed relatively new. "So what do you think? It's in pretty good condition. It needs furniture, maybe a new coat of paint, but Fritz really thinks this is our best bet. Here, look." He beckoned the black and white animatronic and headed towards a door connected off of the dining hall, near the entrance.
"We'd take this door off and maybe put an archway in, but this would be the prize corner." Mike sent him a smile, "What do you think? I can't tell what it looks like compared to the one you were at. Just keep in mind that it'll look different when it's stocked." Marionette moved in and looked around the room almost curiously, scanning the walls humming softly, it coming out in a soft chime. "And I owe you, so whatever you want to do with the Prize Corner is your decision." This caught the Puppet's attention, "Owe me?" He seemed surprised, then dismissive, "It was a gift."
"Maybe so, but that's what will make the biggest dent in buying this place. I do owe you something." He got an amused smile, "I'd consider you more qualified to run this place anyway." Finally, and only now, Marionette got a full smile back and coyly added, "I'll take that as a compliment." His interest seemed suddenly and fully enthralled, completely forgetting about the nightmare and looking towards future possibilities. "What did Foxy think?" Mike raised a brow, "I didn't ask Foxy. Hell, we didn't even run it by Jeremy yet."
"I'm honored," Marionette quipped back honestly. It wasn't as though any owner or human had asked his opinion about any businesses. Not even his father was willing to bring the subject out into the open. The thought of his father almost poisoned his mood, but he managed to regain control and angle his thoughts back to the prize corner. He scanned the room one last time before Mike stepped out and he followed him. "The kitchen is still in good condition too. Fritz said we should probably be able to work with what we have in there," Mike added in.
"We're planning on auctioning some of the old merchandise. We can't reuse it anyway and it seems like the best option. You're fine with that?" Mike tried to see if there was any physical indication that the Puppet was upset. He certainly did seem to suddenly lapse back into quietness, but it didn't seem to be a result from the comment. "It doesn't bother me a bit. Feel free to use what you can," Marionette murmured. "…And thank you for bringing me here. I needed to see this more than I could've ever believed… It really does make me happy to see it survive."
For a split second Mike felt relief, thinking that he had easily bypassed whatever was bothering Marionette. Unfortunately, the Puppet then continued with an odd request, "Can I ask you a question?" The security guard already had a feeling that he wasn't going to want to answer this question. "Of course. You can ask me whatever," Mike shrugged off easily. "Mike… Do you consider yourself my friend, or my caretaker?" Mike stared at him blankly for a few moments. "Don't look at me like that! I'm entirely serious. It's important," Marionette insisted.
"Uh… Maybe both? I consider you a friend, but I did have to drag you out from under the bed this morning." Marionette chuckled but didn't chime. Mike crossed over towards the kitchen, leading his companion inside to show off the equipment. Though it was more of an ambush than anything. Mike wanted him away from the windows before he started prying about what happened the night before. The windows in the kitchen were small, rectangular shaped, and sat rather high on the walls, so they lessened possible visibility.
Marionette tested the knobs on the stove while Mike leaned on a counter. "Speaking of this morning…" Mike began, testing the waters, "I've never seen anything like that. From you, I mean. Whatever happened had to be pretty bad to leave you like that. Like… This." He knew that the building helped, but it didn't fix everything entirely. "You actually scared me. You haven't done that since we first met; that's some sort of feat, but I'm not sure what." His 'easing of the mood' wasn't as convincing anymore. Mike didn't sound fully invested. "And I worry about you."
"You worry about me," Marionette repeated back quieter. "Yeah, I worry about you. As hard as it is to believe I worry about things, I couldn't even believe it myself," Mike responded. They stood there for a few moments before Marionette exhaled. "There really is not much I can say that isn't obvious. I saw things I didn't want to see and I suspected things that I don't want to believe." He hoped this would buy off Mike. He looked back, Mike clearly wasn't sated at all, and he returned to fiddling with the knob on the stove. It wasn't on so it didn't respond.
"Most of it was what I could consider standard. I remembered the bite… Somewhat. I remembered my brother, my father…" His voice grew quieter, "It occurred to me that as much as I loved my father, I knew nothing about him. I never stopped to wonder how he couldn't stop the murders. Or why he covered the deaths… Or why I only lived for a few days. Why on Earth would I survive after what happened and then still have my body die?" Mike's brows furrowed, "Wait, you're not… You're not saying you think that Fredrick killed you, are you?"
The Puppet remained quiet for a moment. "Mari, I know Fredrick… Not as well as I thought I did, but I know, from you, that he loved you. Why would he kill you?" Marionette leaned forward against the stove, head on his hand, looking mockingly relaxed. "I don't know. Maybe he just decided it would be easier to cover up if he just pulled the plug. It could've been so easy, Mike…" Mike wasn't sure if he was convinced, but he could see that Marionette was and moved in. "I don't think Fredrick would've lived with it. Security guards are one thing, but he couldn't have done that to his children."
He was about to touch the Puppet's back when he added in. "I apparently don't have that problem. Familial ties and such… All I could think about this morning was how relieved I was that I didn't have to face my father after that." He shivered and wrapped his free arm around himself. "I actually thought that… What does that make me?" Now Mike pressed his hand to his back, "That makes you someone who clearly thinks his father… You meant shutting off life support, right?" Marionette's hand around himself tightened, "It's that common?"
A few seconds passed between the two before Mike insisted. "Mari, they don't do that unless they're convinced the person won't pull out of it. Fredrick wouldn't have done it, especially not that quickly… Now you've got me doing it." He verbally pulled back, exhaled, and tried to figure out how to go about this without being defensive. The last thing he wanted was to now figure out that the man he saw as a mentor was in on what happened. "It shouldn't bother me. I am happier as an animatronic than I was as a human," Marionette now seemed to defend himself.
"And as sad as that is, that only backs up the fact that you can't dwell on it," Mike remarked. "Anything else in the dream we should quickly run through? Anything else bothering you?" There certainly was, but Marionette wasn't feeling willing to talk about it. "Not exactly… I'm better. I'm fine. Let's not do this anymore." The human backed off and agreed, "If you're sure." He glanced over the kitchen. "At least the kitchen is still functioning. What do you think, big enough to feed a hundred screaming children?" The Puppet responded with forced playfulness, "Oh, definitely not."
"…Jeremy can deal with it. We've got to find something for him to do anyway. He's too skittish to stick him with the kids," Mike remarked as he flicked the knobs back to their off position. He then led the Puppet back out into the building, taking one last look around. So this was it. This was the future of Freddy's, his future that he was working towards, all inside this building. This building that still wasn't even theirs. Anyone could come in now and purchase it; there was no way that the seller would turn down a full payment over one that was currently unfinished.
"That reminds me. How long until Jeremy stops panicking every time he's in the room with me?" Marionette sounded thoroughly amused. Mike scoffed a bit instead, "If that happens at all I'll be surprised." The animatronic followed the security guard in curiosity. "I'm not that terrifying, am I?" Mike chuckled, "You're like a cross between a mime and a jack-in-the-box. What do you think?" There was a soft chime behind him as he stepped out. Marionette purposely moved in just a bit closer, thoroughly amused, "I think you sound like you have experience."
"I think I woke up with you creeping around under the bed," Mike reminded once again and looked back to see that he was alone. Marionette had already disappeared into the car. Mike shut the door and hesitated for a moment with his hand on the handle, looking over the building one more time. "This is going to work. We're going to make this work." Then he headed over and got into the car, starting to drive home. Part of the way back, a black and white hand slid from around the back of the chair and rested on his shoulder.
"If you're trying to scare me, it's not going to work. I already know you're back there." There wasn't a response at first. It actually took a few moments before the hand tightened just a little. Just a secure, affectionate hold on his shoulder. The security guard didn't make any motion to move away and the touch continued to hold on until they got home. Mike didn't need an explanation for the gesture.
Mable: Fun fact, I originally intended to write out a small section detailing what parts of the nightmare meant and unintentionally found out that a lot of the imagery could be seen in a more mature way, if you get what I mean. O.O That, err, wasn't intentional, but dreams are strange so I just left it in anyway. XD The next chapter will be finished quicker; this one required a little more editing and refining than usual. I hope you enjoyed!