Mable: So it seems that we have gotten some extremely exciting news! The Sister Location date has been revealed to be October 7th instead of Halloween day. If all goes well, perhaps I can reschedule the 'Halloween' chapter and instead start the Sister Location arc early. All I need is to see the game and a confirmation on whether or not it will work, which should be instant decision.
In other news, I've been working on my fic for the 7th 9 anniversary! It's shocking to think that it has already been seven years, though I got in a little late, and I'm thinking that this year's story will be an interesting one. This is mostly to any 9 fans possibly reading, but if anyone else is interested then feel free to check it out. You're not obligated, though. I don't want to put anyone in a bind.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the chapter! This one took a little longer than intended because I basically merged two and cut some content that didn't work, but hopefully you still enjoy!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Nineteen
Mike knew that Marionette had been leering at him all morning. He certainly hadn't said anything, this had to be the quietest he had been in a while, but he watched him with a purposefully flat smile. He didn't think it was from the graveyard visit the night before; though Foxy too had been completely silent in his room and it was most likely caused by the visit. Usually Mike was a good judge of emotions and behavior, and he had lived long enough with the puppet to know when he was upset with something, so it didn't take long to come to a conclusion.
At first, Mike tried pointedly to not mention the trip out of town to visit Chipper's. He knew he would be gone for the night considering how long it would take to get there. He still hadn't left either, but that was mostly because he was hoping to get an indication that Marionette was fine with him going, which he wasn't. So they were at a brief stalemate. Not just verbal, but quite literal; with Mike sitting at the table while staring back at Marionette who just decided to stand blankly in the living room. This had only been going on for a few minutes though.
He expected that Marionette would eventually voice his issue, but alas, he did not. Mike was almost too stubborn to say something, but eventually gave in. "It's going to be a long drive. I just hope the van doesn't break down on the way there," Mike pointed out as though it was a general conversation. "It's a good thing you're going alone then," Marionette remarked back. There was bitterness there; Mike could taste it. "Yeah, I'm just going to love hiking through the desert at noon. Nothing more fun than that, and my cell doesn't get good reception."
"Maybe Chipper could help you push it," Marionette suggested in a very unhelpful fashion. Mike finally let an actual frown appear. Marionette's gaze narrowed just a slight bit. Fine then, if he was going to pout then he would give him what he wanted, but Mike knew that the puppet had no idea what he was getting into. "If you're going to throw a tantrum about it then you can come with me, but we can't risk you getting like that stunt last night. Thankfully, everyone in this town is pretty oblivious to everything going on in it."
Marionette seemed to get a rush of changing emotions on his face. It flickered to shock, to confusion, to a more believable smile. "But we'll have to do something with Foxy. He can't go back to the warehouse," Mike pointed out. Foxy had briefly passed out of Marionette's mind and he felt a bit of guilt. "That's true… He shouldn't be alone. We'll just have to bring him with us." Mike stared back blankly, "…Or I could just put on a Springlock suit and we can all walk there. We're already risking it taking you there; Foxy'll kill our chances."
He knew that Mike wouldn't budge, he knew the tone, but thankfully Mike also had a possible solution. "I'll get Jeremy over here to watch him. Foxy didn't seem to mind him before." The security guard got out his cell phone to call Jeremy and forewarn him. Though he had a bad feeling about this entire event. It hadn't bothered him last night, but he was starting to get this feeling like the arrangement was too good to be true. He almost asked Marionette about it, but the puppet had left to check on Foxy, so Mike had simply let it drop.
They left about a half hour after that. Unlike what Mike expected, the ride was mostly uneventful. Marionette shifted back between the front seat in quieter areas and into the back of the van when passing any houses or other cars. Though considering that it was a long stretch of highway that was basically in desert, Marionette spent most of his time in the front, gazing out at the passing desert. He looked so enthralled by the scenery they passed while Mike, as usual, was the stark contrast. It wasn't that Mike hated the area or the drive, but he was much less enthusiastic.
Most of Mike's life had been in this same state. Sure, he had moved further south once leaving home, but it was practically the same area. Out of one small, uninteresting town and straight into another. They all looked the same, the people were all the same. Well, except for the Pizzeria and except for Marionette. He stuck around for them. If it hadn't been for the Pizzeria he would've probably moved west to California, or across to the eastern states to Maine, just as far away as he could from this area and the apathy that came with it.
He glanced back to Marionette again. It was ironically tragic that someone who went through as much as Marionette had was more optimistic than he was. He appreciated every second he had out on the road while Mike was still counting the hours, wondering about if this was all a scam, and trying his hardest to believe that he wasn't naïve enough to fall for a scam. "Hey," Mike finally spoke and interrupted the drive, reaching forward to turn down the radio. Marionette turned to face him attentively.
"I want you to go in with me. I know it's risky, but I want you to 'check' these bots before I agree to take any of them. Think you can do that?" Marionette didn't seem fazed by the request. If anything, he had perked a little bit at the suggestion. "I already planned on it," the puppet quipped in. "They're not going to see me. I'll make sure of it." Mike trusted his confidence, "Thanks. This just all suddenly seems a lot more suspicious now that I've been driving for a couple of hours." The striped animatronic didn't seem nearly as concerned as he did.
Though Mike couldn't tell if that was certainty or simply confidence alone. It seemed to be a help as he felt a little more relaxed. How threatening could Chipper be anyway? Not much, he assumed, and continued to watch the road. Marionette was still watching him so he added in, "It shouldn't be much longer. It's only going to feel like an eternity." It certainly did, too. By time they arrived in the small city, Mike's legs were cramping and his mind was extremely under-stimulated. It didn't take too long to find Chipper's.
Chipper's, also known as Chipper and Son's Lumber Co., was near the middle of the city. The building was about the size of the Pizzeria and brandished a large sign with the faces of the titular characters on it. Glenn specifically stated that today was the day that the theater closed for maintenance, but even with that the parking lot seemed a little too empty. Though as Glenn had said, the theater wasn't doing very well with business, and Mike could only assume that it had to do with Freddy's own history looming over it.
He parked off to the side beside one of the side doors and slipped out, silently glancing back at Marionette in the back of the van. The puppet was going to wait before he made his move. Mike went ahead and walked to the front doors, entering inside of the building. Already it was a stark contrast to Freddy's Pizzeria. The front room was rather small and was styled like a theater lobby would be, but with pictures of Chipper's cast lining the walls. There were also a few posters that apparently advertised specific shows and when they would air.
A woman stood behind the counter and he approached her. Her uniform was a green color and looked more casual than the ones at Freddy's. The most notable thing about her was her extremely curly, light brown hair. "Hey. I'm looking for Glenn, is he waiting for me?" The woman looked to him in surprise, almost as though she hadn't seen him come in. "Oh, yes, umm… You're Mr. Schmidt?" There was nervousness in her voice; most people would see it as a character quirk, but he saw it as a red flag of what was to come.
"That's me. You can just call me Mike," Mike introduced and quickly looked over the room again. Paranoia started to edge in, but he fought it back and faced the woman completely once more. She seemed a little frazzled as she got herself together, "Glenn's out getting a late lunch, but he told me to just take you back into the showroom if you got in early. The plan is to let the animatronics run through and let you see how they work." She stepped out of a back door in the booth and soon appeared at the door to the showroom.
"Alright. Seems fair," Mike shrugged off, suppressing the uneasiness he had. "I didn't catch your name." Unlike Freddy's, where uniforms usually were embroidered with names, the woman didn't have one. Thankfully, she was fine with just giving it to him with a friendly smile. "It's Amber," she said as she led him towards the stage. "This is the normal performance that's showed the most, so I don't know if there was anything specific Glenn was supposed to let you see." Mike raised a brow, "The normal performance? So those posters are actually different shows?"
She nodded, "They all are, but it involves changing the animatronics' programing around. We usually try to switch out the shows every week, going back to this one every couple of weeks. Not that it really helps. We don't get too many repeat customers once they've seen all that they can, and programing something new… We can't do it." She exhaled in a dismal fashion. "I haven't been working here long though. Maybe this is a quiet season."
"Could be," Mike shrugged slightly. "But the animatronics are in good condition?" Amber didn't respond for a few seconds. She stared as though she didn't know what to say and waited for the answer to come to her. "…Sure," she finally replied. "But don't expect them to be brand new, you know. They've been performing for a long time so they're far from perfect." Mike nodded in understanding. "I didn't expect anything factory fresh. I'd have to sell an arm and a leg to get a brand new animatronic." Amber agreed with a nod.
Mike sat down in the front row and looked to the curtained stage while Amber stepped to the side to talk to another woman. The woman's uniform looked more like a technician uniform than anything else and the woman looked to be in her forties. Just as soon as she appeared, she headed into the back to activate the show and Amber returned. "Hope you enjoy the show and find what you're looking for," she chirped in a welcoming, but strangely forced tone.
By now Mike had a suspicion that Glenn was getting rid of these animatronics not out of them being haunted, but them being old and defective. He had a feeling that what he was about to witness was going to be worse than he expected. He watched Amber leave, looked towards where the technician headed, and then turned to check for any other doors. By time he turned to do so, Marionette was suddenly in the chair beside him. Mike jumped slightly, "What- Someone's going to see you!" He whispered, attempting to cover his surprise with faux concern.
Marionette seemed more than happy to sneak up on Mike. "Oh, I don't think so. They didn't see me coming in," he quipped, leaning against the armrest as he looked over the room with moderate interest. "This isn't exactly what I expected, but I suppose it could work. It wasn't the first establishment to prefer the entertainment over the more active things." Mike was slightly curious, but wasn't interested enough to ask after the lights dimmed. The security guard leaned back in the chair, "Seems easier to manage the kids with."
"You would think so, but no. Right now the kids would be out of their seat running through the aisles," Marionette pointed out matter-of-factly. "…If this doesn't start soon, I might need to do it myself. My legs are half asleep," Mike muttered as he shifted uncomfortably in the seat. The sitting in the darkness lasted for a few more minutes, along with some noises from the back. The man exhaled, stretched, and looked over towards his companion, "I'm starting to see the problem with the place, and your eyes are glowing." He could even tell that he was being stared at.
At this instance a spotlight suddenly appeared and shined on the stage. Then out from the curtained shuffled an actual animatronic. It walked strangely, like there were wheels somewhere underneath it, and looked to be almost half the size. "Welcome, everyone!" the small Beaver raised a hand stiffly. "The show is about to begin! No flash photography, please!" Mike made a soft choke and leaned over, "I don't even want to know what kind of murderous rampage a camera flash is going to set off." He followed with a small smirk.
The small Beaver continued standing on the stage for a few moments, as though waiting for a cue. This cue came from a larger Beaver suddenly walking onto the stage. Mike recognized the character as Chipper and remembered him specifically from the cartoon episodes. He looked pretty unchanged design-wise. "Heya, kids! It's me, Chipper, and this is my son, Tyke!" Tyke waved again in a stiff manner. "We'd like to welcome you to the show! I've been a lumberjack, actor, screenwriter for a couple of years now, and it's good to see the crowds still lining up!"
Marionette actually looked back at the empty seats. "But it's about time for my son here to take over the business," Chipper announced. Tyke turned to face him in surprise, or his voice sounded surprised, "But Father!" Chipper interrupted him, "No buts! It's about time you started to find your own way in the world! Now, I'm not kicking you out on your furry ear just yet-." 'Ear' elicited a prompt, "What?" from Mike. "We've got one more show to perform! But that means that this one's got to be really special… Hmm… Oh, but first…!"
Both of the Beaver animatronics faced forwards off of the stage. They suddenly began to sing, "Welcome to Chipper and Son's! Where we work all day and have fun!" Suddenly the curtain opened behind the two and revealed more animatronics behind them. Most of them were smaller than both of the Beavers were, except for two large cardboard cutouts that were supposed to look like shadows of whales at the back of the stage. It was sort of jarring as the group of other voices chimed in, "Where the trees grow tall and the logs all fall where they may! Welcome, come in, come stay with us today! Let us welcome you to our forest and say-!"
"I've got it!" Chipper suddenly blurted out and turned before walking off the stage. His footsteps were heavy on the stage and he was clearly not on wheels. Tyke attempted to follow, "Dad? Dad?!" He sighed, "Sorry, folks! Looks like the show's going to have to end here…" A seagull looking animatronic raised its wing and argued in. "No way, Tyke! And upset all of these people? You can handle it." The curtain started to close and Tyke sighed before hurrying off stage. "Alright! I'll try my best!" He hurried off the stage and the room fell silent.
Mike was just staring at the stage. "…Well, that was something. Think that was it?" He looked over to Marionette who was looking towards the floor. "What's wrong?" The puppet covered his face with his hand, the motion showing obvious embarrassment. "…Good luck with that," Mike teased back and looked back towards the curtain. About five minutes passed before the curtain opened again. This time to reveal Tyke and the seagull standing in front of an ocean themed backdrop. Tyke was shaking his head while the seagull was fidgeting with its wing raised.
"That doesn't look right," Mike commentated and leaned over towards Marionette who was silently watching, his hand now on his mouth. The Seagull 'inhaled deeply', "Ah, smell that salty sea air! You know, Tyke, you'd make a good first mate. Why are you sticking around in the logging business? You should come with me and we'll sail the seven seas!" Tyke sounded unconvinced, "I can't leave my dad. He'd be devastating. Besides, I'm a Beaver, cutting trees is basically what I'm supposed to do… Even though dad's the only one that really does it."
The Seagull made a dismissive exhale and turned to the side. The wing shifted oddly and still didn't go down; by now Mike knew it was stuck in place. "That landlubber wouldn't know the first thing about adventure out on the open sea!" Music began to play through the room as another song began. "When you live on the ocean you can get the notion to ship off out to sea. To leave to distant lands, make sure you have all hands on deck, and a foolproof plan. Ho, there's land! For across the water!"
Now Tyke chimed in, "I do know if I can go without telling my father!" The Seagull ended the song with a final, "Take a chance my friend and cut the ropes! Adventure awaits!" They stood stiffly in that same position as the cardboard cut outs from before slid out from behind the curtains. The voice that followed seemed to come from closer to the stage though. "Hey, Phil! What do I have in my pocket?" Another voice that sounded almost identical chimed in, "You mean your fat rolls?" The first voice responded, "Rude! Smoothie Time!"
By this point Mike wasn't even sure what he was supposed to say to Glenn. He couldn't imagine any of this being at the new Pizzeria; he didn't even want to consider it. A soft chime came from beside him and he glanced over, flatly stating, "This isn't funny. Nothing about this is funny." Marionette could barely control himself, trembling in the seat. "I know. It's just- It's so awful, isn't it?" He cut off when a small termite animatronic stepped onto the stage, raised a flimsy arm with a fake martini glass, and then it promptly fell off. Mike mouth dropped open. Marionette broke down.
Needless to say, the rest of the show dragged on for what felt like eternity. Marionette was basically hysterical while Mike watched with pity as more things went terribly wrong. Tyke lost a finger, the seagull's wing never lowered, and the finale song was clearly out of sync. It finally ended with Chipper coming back onto stage. "Without further ado, the Lumber Bot Maximum!" he called and led out an animatronic that looked identical to him, but with a metallic sheen. Mike was barely interested at this point, but it suddenly piqued as he realized something very odd.
Unlike Chipper and the gang, this Lumber Bot animatronic did look newer. Its joints moved a lot easier and it looked better put together, cleaner than the others, though maybe the metallic covering hid the flaws. Unfortunately, it only got about ten minutes on stage before the curtains abruptly shut. By this point Mike's legs were completely numb and he could only look over at the mess that Marionette had become with disbelief. He could only wish that he could find this all that amusing, but he was going to have to give Glenn an answer.
The lights suddenly alit again, practically blinding Mike who had gotten so used to the dark. By time he recovered enough to look over, Marionette was gone, and a set of footsteps could be heard. He looked over to see Glenn appearing down the walkway. "How was the show?" he asked with an interested smile. Mike didn't know how to respond and forced out, "It was good." He nodded, paused, and quickly changed the subject as he stood. "But are you sure you want to break up the group? The show looks pretty complete as it is."
"Maybe, but we can shift some things around. Besides, we need to lower operating costs," Glenn tried to dismiss. "Any of them, save Chipper and Tyke, can be cut. I wanted you to see the show first just in case you saw something worth being cut." Mike bit his tongue for a moment, then pointed out the animatronic that stood out. "I noticed that Lumber Bot animatronic isn't exactly like the others…" he trailed off in hope that Glenn would explain. Instead, Glenn seemed more focused on the exchange, "You want him? We could drop him out of the show pretty easily."
"I just noticed he looks newer than the others?" Mike asked in a partial question. Glenn looked towards the stage, "Yeah, that, he is newer. We got all the others when the place opened and got him when the last Lumber Bot broke down. We work on them ourselves now, but back then we had to call in technicians, so they got us a newer model hoping it would last longer. If you want him then you're welcome to take him; he's the only character who really doesn't do much in the show or anything." He seemed to become more insistent about this.
"I'll… Think about it. I can't decide just yet," Mike lied. Glenn smiled confidently again, "Great! Why don't I show you around? You might want to see the odds and ends of this place if we're going to be working together." He led Mike through the relatively small theater. There was a storage room that held the animatronics, a small control room, and Glenn's own business office. Mike noticed something missing in particular; a security office of any kind. In fact, he soon realized that there weren't any cameras inside the theater at all.
"You don't have a night guard?" Mike asked the older man. This seemed particularly strange to him. "No, no. Don't need one, really. I lock everything down when I leave, but we have a set of backup locks that activate around Midnight. Nobody's getting in through those." He seemed certain of this so Mike let it drop. Overall, by the end of the tour Mike was entirely convinced that the trip was a bust. He was only barely able to talk himself into more time by saying he was staying in a hotel and would be back in the morning.
Mike already planned to stay in a hotel. He didn't really want to drive at dark, especially if an animatronic was in the back. He managed to weasel out of Chipper's quicker than he expected and practically ran to the door, briefly waving to Amber as he left. It was only once he stepped out that he realized how uncomfortable he had been. He peeled out of the parking lot before even checking for Marionette, but to his relief the puppet was in the back and hadn't lingered inside the theater after the show. Regardless, Marionette hadn't noticed anything amiss.
It wasn't until later the evening, after Mike had gotten dinner and settled in for the night, that his mind returned to the strange animatronic. His only chance for answers was now Marionette, who was currently setting up his music box on the bedside table beside the bed closer to the door. "You're taking that one?" Mike inquired. Marionette reacted by limply dropping onto the bed, "I intend to." He playfully smiled back towards Mike as he sat on his own bed. "What's wrong? Having trouble making your choice?"
"Don't play with me, Mari. We both know that we're screwed no matter what I decide to do. I have half a mind to just split town; I'll call Glenn later and just say that there was an emergency," he kicked off his shoes and gave a cynical chuckle. "Just watch, he'll appear at the Pizzeria in a couple of days with one of those cardboard whales." Marionette rolled onto his front, holding up his head lazily with one arm. "They did have the best joke," he only seemed more delighted when Mike gave him a look of unimpressed disbelief.
"You don't seem very disappointed about not finding anything," Mike pointed out accusingly. Marionette shrugged, "I won't lie to you, on the way here I started to get a little worried about us actually finding a fitting animatronic. I couldn't imagine Foxy's reaction if someone was at risk of taking his position." A small smirk crossed Mike's lips. "Yeah, Foxy. I'm sure he'd get jealous pretty quickly." Just as soon as the smile appeared it faded once more. "…I'm tempted to head back there and see if anything's happening now that it's nighttime."
He looked to the clock, mentally noting that he couldn't go after Midnight or there wouldn't be any way in… Only then did it register that the time was a very familiar one. "If the animatronics start moving at Midnight like back at Freddy's…" He straightened on the bed and looked back to the puppet. "What if the animatronics stay dormant until Midnight? Glenn said the door had a double lock and absolutely no security guard. It would make sense if these animatronics were moving around on their own at night."
"Perhaps, but I am certain that they are empty. Unless they actually have a mode that makes them wander at night, which I sorely doubt," Marionette quipped back. "Mike, I think it's a waste of time. You don't want them, I don't think I can handle looking them in the eyes, and it's too late to be wandering around." Mike looked a little surprised. "Before you say anything, being active at night doesn't count when you're not active during the day," Marionette remarked and turned over, adjusting on the bed. Mike seemed to let it go.
"I guess you're right… It doesn't matter anyway," he clicked on the television and shifted back against the headboard. "We've got an early morning tomorrow. The earlier we leave, the sooner we get home and rescue Jeremy from Pirate Hell." His blue eyes moved back to the other as he got comfortable. "Need me to wind your box?" Marionette only believed it for a second, though for a split second he actually believed it. He froze and then chimed in amusement, "Oh Mike, you should've at least waited a few minutes."
Mike inwardly scolded for his quick reaction, but he knew that he was running out of time. Unfortunately, Marionette was now aware of what he was doing; he actually wondered if this meant Marionette would try and stop him. He doubted it, but now it was like an unspoken challenge and Mike wondered if he could win. The other couldn't sleep without the music box… Unless.
Mike tried to suppress the clever smirk, "If you're not going to sleep, you can come over here and we can watch something. It just seems kind of weird to sit on two different beds and watch tv." Somehow, Marionette didn't see through the act.
Jeremy stretched stiffly and looked over towards the grandfather clock. It was late and it clearly showed why he was feeling so tired. He groaned as he turned off the television and started to stand. "Alright, Foxy, I'm going!" he called back towards the hallway. Foxy hadn't really interacted with him at all in the evening so he didn't think he would care. He stumbled into the kitchen to pour out what was left of a glass of orange juice, listening to the soft chimes of the clock striking midnight. It reminded him of reaching six in the morning on those long nights as a security guard.
Maybe he was distracted or just tired, but when Jeremy turned around he didn't expect to see Foxy standing near the door. "What's that, matey? Going so soon? Pirate's Cove is open to any lad or lass looking to be a pirate!" Jeremy gave an awkward smile, though it looked more like a cringe. "Yeah, no, I think I'm fine on land, Captain. I'll see you in the morning." He waited, but Foxy didn't move. It slowly dawned on him in his tired mind that Foxy was blocking the front door. "Uh… Foxy, I need to get by."
"Pizza, games, and booty for the takin' be all you need in Pirate Cove! Settle in for the long haul, lads, because we're going on an adventure!" Foxy responded, raising his hook with his other hand stiffly on his hip in a choreographed pose. The human got a little more uncomfortable, "I-I really should be getting home… Foxy?... Foxy, please let me by." He was becoming more unsteady as he realized that the clock had just struck Midnight, that it was same time when the animatronics supposedly got rowdy, and now Foxy wasn't letting him go.
Jeremy tried to sidle between the table, the wall, and Foxy in an attempt to somehow get to the door, get it open, and leave. Foxy seemed to have another thing in mind, "Let's all play a game." Jeremy stared back, wide eyed, "…Okay." It wasn't like he could even say no. Foxy had him in a bind and he couldn't access the door unless he had moved. "…How do you play?"
He knew he was going to regret even asking.
Mable: If this Sister Location works out then I already have a lot of ideas that might work in the chapters. I love an opportunity to do something dark in what may or may not be a factory... Then again, the rule of thumb is that if it is a factory, or a place like that, it'll eventually explode… Err, maybe I'll leave that part out of the story. XD But more importantly, Chipper's showroom might have a darker secret it's hiding… Or maybe not. That all depends on the next chapter, which will be posted soon. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!