Mable: So there was an awkward typo in the last chapter. XD I corrected it now, but I'll post it here too. I meant my birthday was on the sixteenth, not that my age was sixteen, just to clarify.
This chapter went through probably the most revisions of any chapter I've written so far. It's nothing like originally planned, but I hope you still get some joy out of it!

Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Eighteen

The room was quiet and the air was cooler than the rest of the house. It had been so long since anyone had the desire to come in here. From what he knew, Marionette never saw his father reenter this room, and he knew it was because it hurt him too much. It only made the situation feel grimmer. The puppet looked towards the fox animatronic sitting on the bed, who looked up attentively when he entered. Yet he didn't speak; he already knew what the striped being was in here to do. Marionette's moved in closer, "Foxy… Tell me who did this to you."

Foxy dropped his head in shame and said nothing. This only made it worse for Marionette who could now see that he was more mentally clear than he let on. All this time Foxy had been acting like he was stuck in his basic programming, only sometimes nudging through it, but it was all a lie. Black hands tightened as frustration grew. "I want to know whose been doing this to you." But Foxy, as pitiful as he looked staring at the floor, stood his ground and said absolutely nothing. Marionette couldn't understand it; he knew that he was capable of fixing it but stayed silent.

"Why didn't you tell me?" his voice became more firm, betraying his frustration. "How long has this been going on? How many nights? And you- You said nothing even though I could help you!" Though what had him most angry was the simple fact that he had not been about to see or feel whatever it was. He had no idea if it was the lingering souls of the others, if it was the spirit of the Purple Man, if it was a sentient culmination of negative energy; he had seen and felt nothing in the warehouse. He felt like he had failed somehow and even now still couldn't make it better.

"Just tell me! I can help you!" Marionette practically pleaded to the other. There was still no answer at all. For whatever reason, Foxy wasn't planning on saying a thing about it. Marionette released a quick burst of static, a cry of frustration, and clutched at his mask. He tried to calm himself back down, trying to ease himself and remember that he could still fix this. "Oh Foxy…" he murmured out in a sea of static. Foxy's ears perked, the one now being fixed, and he rose off of the bed. He reached out and took his arm.

"Lad, don't cry. Yer always cryin'," Foxy murmured in a saddened fashion. As though it hurt him to hear the other upset. Marionette wasn't actually crying, but the comment caught him off guard. The animatronic put his arms around him in a strangely stiff embrace; he was out of practice and hadn't hugged anyone, not even children, in years. The Puppet accepted it silently and lowered his hands, pressing back into the affectionate gesture. He wanted it to last, but he had stumbled upon another thing that he simply couldn't let go of.

When they did finally separate from each other, Marionette decided to change his attention to this new revelation. "Do you… Remember what it was like before?" he tentatively offered. Again, he was under the impression that Foxy and the others had a limited memory of their lives before this. Foxy tilted his head as though in confusion. Marionette raised a hand as though signaling him to wait, then left the room. After searching the hall and living room, he found a photo that fit his needs and then carried it back to Foxy once again.

He showed the family photo to Foxy. "I know you probably don't remember, but these children… This family…" Marionette found his voice cut off and he tightened his grip on the photo frame. Foxy looked at the picture for a few seconds in silence. Just as Marionette was about to think it was a waste of time, Foxy tapped the glass with his hook, lightly tracing the photo. His eyes focused on one thing in particular; not the teenager, not the boy, but the adult male. In an instant Marionette realized that there was something else he didn't tell Foxy.

The fox animatronic passed by and headed to the door, looking out into the hall as though he was looking for something. Marionette hugged the picture to his chest, "I… I can take you to see him." Foxy was quiet and the Puppet faced him slowly. There wasn't a verbal confirmation, but he knew that Foxy wanted to. He could somehow just feel it emanating from the male. "As soon as it gets dark, I'll take you there," he promised the other. He meant it too. It wasn't a reluctant promise or a pacifying one, he meant this.

Though Marionette was extremely relieved when Mike didn't get back before dark. He knew what they were about to do was incredibly risky and Mike would've stepped in and stopped it. Or perhaps just drove them there, but he didn't want to risk it. The striped animatronic wasn't necessarily afraid; he knew the shadows would protect them well. So as soon as darkness fell, he slipped out the front door with Foxy in tow. It was a cloudy night which had left the streets darker than they normally would be.

He guided Foxy towards the back of the house, easily hovering over the fence and sliding into the empty lot behind their house. The sporadic trees had once been a playground for them both, though not together, but now made an excellent cover. Foxy hopped over the fence and landed heavily on the ground with a metallic groan. He then followed to the sidewalk. They checked the street and Marionette made his assessment. The road they needed to go down was across the street. He signaled Foxy to wait in the bushes and stared across the street.

In a sudden rush he teleported across, catching himself on a streetlight so that he didn't go too far. He kept close to the pole, as though trying to disappear against it, and looked around. They needed to pass four houses on this street. Three had their lights on and the last one was dark; going through the backyard would be the safest option. It felt so good, though. To be outside, to be touching something that he usually couldn't, to be outside the usual box of walls, and Marionette relished briefly.

Then he was alerted by the sound of rapid footsteps. He looked back just in time to see, to his horror, that Foxy was not waiting for a signal and was now darting across the road. Metal feet nearly sparked on concrete as the animatronic sprung onto the sidewalk. Marionette gave a disapproving look while Foxy scanned down the sidewalk. "Should've brought a spyglass. Ya can't see anything from this far away," he muttered out, lengthening the 'arr' in 'far'. Before anything more could be said, a car started to drive down the street they just passed.

Marionette pointed towards the gap between the house and the flimsy hedge beside it. Foxy sprinted in and towards the backyard, Marionette followed suit. Foxy dashed behind the house, quickly sprinting past a sliding door that shined in on a kitchen with people in it. Marionette followed behind, having to teleport to keep up with the other animatronic. That was, until Foxy leapt over a short fence and nearly ran in on a barbeque. Or what was really just four men sitting in lawn chairs who just happened to not be looking in their direction.

Foxy's twitchiness came in handy as he jolted to the side and between the houses again. They were back in front of the houses and in plain sight. Marionette directed them ahead and teleported to the darkened house, moving close enough to the house that his figure wasn't as obvious. Foxy followed along and was soon beside him on the front lawn. The puppet got his bearings together and noted what direction they needed to head in. Then noticed that Foxy had wandered off somewhere. Two seconds of frantic searching and he found him beside the house.

Foxy was staring into a window at a dark bedroom, lightly tapping on the glass of the window. Marionette was absolutely baffled, "We're going to be seen." He reminded the animatronic who sent him what was almost a playful smile, but it was difficult with limited facial movement. "There's a kid in there," Foxy explained. He peeked over and tapped a little, then dropped back down. "I think she's awake." Eagerness filled his mind at the thought of entertaining a child, even if from the window. The other got a skeptically amused tone.

"You're going to scare her, Foxy. Come along; we don't have all night." Foxy brought his hook down, "Kids aren't scared o' Foxy, lad. Even at my worst they were lookin' to have adventures." 'His worst' probably meant when he was out of service, though even that was one of many times. Marionette chimed in amusement, "That's funny. I don't recall you creeping outside their windows." He rose to peek in at the sleeping child while Foxy looked around. A short scream came from inside the room and Marionette dropped to his knees beside Foxy.

"She saw me," Marionette whispered in alarm, face turning to surprise. "I just thought she was asleep." Foxy released a low chuckle, "And you were gettin' on me for scarin' kids!" The amusement ended abruptly as a door opened and a new voice started speaking, an obviously adult voice. Now Foxy snapped into a fleeing mindset and nudged the other. "Go, go. Over there." They moved further down towards the front, crouching in the grass as they tried to ignore the babbling of the frightened child.

Marionette was beyond mortified, covering his face with a hand and mentally berating himself. Foxy nudged him, "Don't worry about it. Happens to the best of us." Foxy was clearly enjoying this more than he should have. The Puppet looked towards the street, "We need to keep going. We have a long way to go." The fox shrugged, "There's no need to rush off. It's not like they'll be looking for 'monsters'." Marionette almost agreed until noticing the sound of a window opening nearby. Without a word, both of them rose and hurried across the lawn.

This time, before crossing the street, Marionette was more insistent with Foxy. "Wait here. I'll signal you when it's safe." Foxy seemed reluctant, but leaned on the street sign and watch the puppet teleport onto the sidewalk across the street. The second he did he was met with blaring lights and in a panic was able to barely teleport himself right back to beside Foxy. Now the yard was alit with an overabundance of motion detector lights. Marionette stood there for a moment, then tittered in amusement, "So now we know that the method works."

"Aye, if that's what we're calling it," Foxy agreed. They changed their direction, but from what they were witnessing it seemed like everything was taking too much time. The suburban neighborhood was simply too thick with houses and families inside of them, and most weren't asleep. Their next destination was a nearby strip mall that was close to the edge of town. Both agreed that travelling by the outskirts was probably the safest choice, even if it wasn't as directly aimed towards their location. This involved a blind dash down an alley that rested behind a few houses.

Foxy was leading the way and they were almost at the strip mall, when Marionette was suddenly distracted and halted. It took a second before Foxy realized he wasn't following and he also stopped, looking back in confusion and concern. He wandered back over, "Come on, Lad. What's got the wind out of yer sails?" He looked at the group of cars in the driveway, but they didn't affect him at all. Marionette flatly answered, "I know that car. It's that girl who works with Mike." He sounded wearier than anything about seeing it.

"Aww, what's that? Ya got a lass?" Foxy lightly teased, keeping his eye out for passing cars. Marionette actually seemed to return to good humor incredibly quickly. "She's certainly not my 'lass', Captain. I don't have a lass. I don't even have a lad. I'm just a lonely puppet roaming the streets and scaring children, looking forward to the highlight of my journey; visiting a graveyard." Mike would've rolled his eyes, Foxy just shrugged it off. "Yer also my first mate, but yer slacking on the job. Let's get going; there's nothing fer us here."

Marionette rested his hands to his chest in an over dramatic gesture, "Your first mate? I'm honored! That means I get my own share of buried treasure, right?" Foxy stayed silent. "And would you believe that in the time I said that, I completely forgot that we were going to a cemetery?" Marionette continued, chiming in a mix of mirth and embarrassment. Foxy stared at the road, "If the sea keeps getting rougher, we're going to be going back home. Look at all these Landlubbers driving around!" He stopped when he noticed the other wasn't coming. "Hmm?"

"Her father…" Marionette began, briefly lost in thought. An undeniable urge started to creep along his fabric. "…Foxy, wait here. I need to do something." If anything, his smile widened, while Foxy just silently agreed and hid out of view. "Come back soon, Lad." He had a feeling that was taken from some sort of recording. Either way, he approached the house, sliding beside the side and peering through the windows. From the lights and sound from inside, most of the family was probably in the living room area, so he was easily able to slide in through an unlocked window.

The dark bedroom was thankfully devoid of life and Marionette crossed to the cracked door, peering out into the hallway. The living room and kitchen area was fully illuminated and the light poured into the hall, along with the sound of multiple people and children. He hadn't expected children to be awake still and he knew that he had to stay patient; he couldn't be seen by another child tonight. This was all different from earlier though. It had been so long since he had hunted someone, even if it was a less aggressive form of hunting.

He then focused on the singular, familiar, masculine voice that came from the direction of the kitchen. It was definitely the man who was making the threats. He considered his options of trying to go invisible, which barely worked, or trying to slip through the walls which could possibly leave him vulnerable. He would have to wait until the man was alone, the easiest option of the lost, and attempted to focus in on the man's voice. There was no information that was usable.

Marionette could already tell that he was a bit rustier than he thought he was. He used to be a threat to security guards, to the Purple Man, and now he was hiding in a room listening to a family through the wall. He was considering leaving, but in one instant the clock struck… Something. He had lost track long ago. Whatever time it turned, it spurred the man to stand and head down the hall to a different room. After a few moments he returned and entered the room across the hallway. The sound of a shower turning on shortly followed.

This was the perfect opportunity. The animatronic entered into the bathroom without being seen or heard and stared down the dark green shower curtain. He had been waiting for this and now he had him right where he wanted. He remembered what this man did to Mike, everything he had said, to spur himself on. Unfortunately, this tactic backfired dramatically. Suddenly everything halted as he realized that Mike would never be able to find out about this. He didn't know how the man would react to knowing he did this.

The restraint came back and wrapped around him like a second set of strings. Here he was, able to do whatever he desired, and something held him back. If there could be any time that he wouldn't think of the moral repercussions it would be now, but here they were reminding him of his actions. The murderer had murdered children, damaged animatronics, returned repeated, and hadn't stopped; he deserved what he had gotten. This man just said some threatening things. Frustrating or not, he didn't know if he could justify doing something. It drove him insane.

Marionette didn't realize how worked up he had gotten until he heard two loud pops and the lights suddenly died. The man in the shower let out a yelp and shuffled in the dark, scrambling to turn off the flow of water. The puppet knew that he had unintentionally blew the lights and decided in that split second that it was enough, then left the man alone in the dark. He hurried back into the bedroom as though he was now being chased and slipped out the window. He'd let the 'Weasel' go without doing anything beyond inconveniencing him.

That would change quickly if the man followed through with his threats. For now, he was content, and sought out Foxy again. He didn't even ask, he just climbed out of the bushes and the two of them headed across the street once it was clear. The strip mall still had a laundry mat open on it, which was unfortunately brightly lit and holding a large group of alert, adult humans. Marionette didn't even offer any sort of signal or explanation, he just naturally started to go behind the line of stores.

Headlights interrupted them as a car started to drive out from behind the building. Foxy glanced at the surroundings and abruptly dove into a dumpster, holding it open until Marionette slid in beside him. The car's occupants were none the wiser, but discouragement was starting to appear. Foxy was clearly on edge. He was twitching a bit more and had suddenly gone silent, but he pressed on farther. It was a relief to get onto a quieter road as the one leading to the cemetery was mostly consisting of plots that had yet to be built on.

From here the dry mountains and expanse of desert-like land beyond the city could be seen clearly. It was surprising that such a seemingly lively city was located in the middle of a vast nothing. Foxy started to lightly hum the Pirate song as they continued along the side of the road. Marionette glanced over towards Foxy and decided to try again with his questioning from earlier, "Foxy?" The fox animatronic turned his head slightly to acknowledge him. "I think…" he paused as he suddenly felt the sensation of being watched. "I think we're being followed."

He let whatever he actually wanted to say pass and tried to keep paying attention behind him, but didn't physically look back. Foxy blatantly looked back for a split second, "Aye, they got their lights off…Maybe it's the folks of that kid you scared." Marionette felt his body start to stiffen at the thought of being watched. He knew that soon he would be unable to move if he didn't control himself. "The ditch," he pointed out with his voice alone, referring to the sloping hill and ditch to the side of the street.

Foxy only had to turn towards the ditch when the lights of the vehicle suddenly turned on. It moved closer abruptly, knowing it had been seen, and Foxy started towards the ditch. It was by sheer luck that he looked back in time to see that Marionette wasn't moving. The animatronic panicked and grabbed the frozen being, sprinting down the ditch. Only a couple of seconds later and Foxy regretted it. The slope was steep, the puppet was awkward, and he was going way faster than he intended. He stumbled and started to roll down what remained of the slope.

His hook desperately swiped around as he attempted to catch himself on the sharp rocks he was rolling over. They landed in a heap at the bottom with Foxy scrambling to stand and Marionette trying to shield his face still. There was the sound of other footsteps as a human figure appeared at the top of the hill. "Are you two okay?! What the hell was that?!" Marionette suddenly recognized the voice as he rose and directly looked towards the hill. There was Mike standing there in the dark.

He didn't know how he didn't recognize the van, though suddenly realized that he hadn't directly seen it, and considered two options. He could either make a mad dash towards the cemetery with Foxy or they could explain the situation to Mike and have him drive them there. With time constraints, the risk of him saying no, and the slight joy in the chase; Marionette unbelievable chose the former. He mentally insisted that it was just easier this way than to stop and explain, and started hovering towards the cemetery. Foxy didn't ask, he just followed along in a sprint.

He climbed out of the ditch and overtook the puppet, finally seeing the gravestones in sight. Marionette expected him to stop once they made it into the ungated area, but he didn't. Marionette thought he would need to be led, but he didn't. He already knew the location of where they were going and soon the puppet was the one being led as they searched dozens of stones. Then the fox animatronic stopped abruptly in front of a single, large tombstone. It was engraved with two names, two birth and death dates, and held the two people who Marionette and Foxy hadn't ever forgot about.

On the right was Fredrick and on the left was his wife, the mother that Marionette couldn't remember. Foxy looked at the gravestone for a few moments before crouching down on one knee. He traced his hand over the newly added name in a soft, smooth movement. Marionette stared at the grave from a short way back. The purple tears returned, but they were not for the two deceased beings. They were instead for Foxy and were accompanied by complete silence. Or they were until Mike eventually jogged over from across the cemetery.

He didn't say anything at first, just pausing to pant, and Marionette squeezed in his own question. "How long… Until you realized we were gone?" he faked a light tone and hoped it took effect. "About thirty seconds after I got home," Mike retorted. "I saw you both twice circling the city, but you both kept taking off."

"That's very comforting to know; that we were in plain sight," Marionette quipped. "We didn't know it was you. I didn't know it was you until… Now." Mike looked unconvinced, "So you didn't hear me at the hill?" Marionette denied it, "No, no. I was confused." Mike scoffed slightly, "Funny, that's your same excuse for your nonchalant suit stuffing." He then actually noticed Foxy and looked to the graves. "…Are you both okay?" Foxy answered with a wheeze like a sigh, then stood stiffly. "Yar, welcome back, me hearties! Time to set sail for adventure!"

With that, Foxy returned to the prerecorded messages, and Marionette chimed in returning amusement. "Perhaps so, Captain. Oh, and look! To end our evening, we get to look at our own graves!" He gestured to the two stones beside Fredrick and his wife's. Foxy entirely ignored the comment and Mike cringed, "I've got to somehow get you two out more." Mike was surprised by how easily the two headed to the van and climbed in. Marionette had somewhat expected Fritz or Jeremy to be there, but the security guard was alone.

Foxy secluded himself in the back to rest, so Marionette turned his attention on Mike. He slid behind his seat to get close enough to talk. "Where were you all afternoon?" he curiously inquired, glancing towards his 'security' hat. "I suppose at work?" Mike sort of shrugged, "Work for the Pizzeria, I guess. I'm actually supposed to be at work now." Marionette felt like he was supposed to apologize, "I'm sorry." The human didn't seem nearly as concerned, "It's not a problem. I haven't taken any personal days off for a while…" And then he felt his hat being removed.

"You know, I like that hat," he jokingly suggested. Marionette playfully retorted, "That's such a shame, because I like it too." He slipped it on his head and Mike suddenly grew a little quieter. "I'm taking tomorrow off too. I got in touch with Glenn today and he was offering something I couldn't pass on." He paused for a semi-dramatic reveal and then finished, "He wants me to come by Chippers, look at the animatronics, and see if I want one. I mean, yeah, it's weird that he's giving it to us for nothing, but maybe it's because of operating costs."

Marionette had never felt so unsure of his opinion in his life. He knew the new animatronic wouldn't be like him and the others, so it was basically just a toy to him more than anything. Even the suspicious behavior flew under his radar; this was probably the least shady business practice that Freddy's had ever participated in. Naturally it was just his hesitation in knowing Mike would be gone in a place that he couldn't follow. Ironically enough, Mike made this decision without him, so Marionette begrudgingly felt ashamed of letting his previous decision be so effected by the male.

"…That's better than what I was thinking you would say," Mike offered with a small smirk. "Anything I should know about before I hear it on the news?" The puppet slid back further into the van, "Chasing weasels and scaring kids. It's all what I usually do." He watched Foxy sit dormant on the other side of the van and, for a second, wondered if he had done the right thing taking him to the cemetery. It certainly didn't make himself feel any better. He had a feeling that Mike was watching him through the mirror and wondered if he noticed.

"By the way, I still want my hat back."

Or perhaps not.

Mable: Because offering to hand out free animatronics isn't strange at all. XD But that's okay, that's for the next chapter to dwell on. Which will be posted as soon as I finish it! I hope you enjoy!