Mable: So here we are with the next chapter! I don't have much to say, though I'm considering putting a poll up at some time to get a reading on what everyone would like to see. It's not up now, nor will be up immediately after I post, so just check in whenever if you'd like to influence the story. ^-^ Though not massively. If something seems a little too out of reach, then I won't be able to add it. Like if everyone wants 'Chica to be revealed as Jeremy's mother and have a sassy catchphrase'. May not happen… Though I'm not intending to put that option down. XD

Anyway, I hope you Enjoy!

Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Thirty-Five

Marionette hadn't expected to hear the front door open so quickly after Mike had left. Perking from his current focus, which was on his plush collection, he hesitated to see if he could sense the intruder before they got too close. He could recognize the patterns and the feel almost immediately; Mike had returned. He teleported directly out of his room and into the living room to greet the human. Indeed, there was Mike; carrying in a couple of bags that he set out on the dining room table. Marionette fought down the urge to scold him on carrying so much in his state.

"Mike…?" he asked curiously. Mike looked to him with a smile; as though everything was perfectly fine. He hadn't come home because of an issue with Natalie. He clearly wasn't intoxicated or anything. Even pain wasn't the cause or Mike wouldn't have carried in the bag so easily. It didn't make sense to the puppet.

"Hey! You're just on time," Mike jokingly remarked as he brought something out of a bag. "Check out this gift basket Natalie got me." He set it out on the table, revealing it to Marionette. The puppet looked over the basket eagerly, studying every object that he could see in direct sight, overflowing with interest.

He gave a chime of delight, "That was very nice of her." Marionette hummed to himself as he reached forward to fiddle through what he could immediately see. Mike was pleased by his interest in the basket.

"It was, wasn't it?" Mike quipped back as he brought something out of a second plastic bag and set it out on the table. "And here's yours." Marionette was clearly surprised from his movements, looking to the second basket that had been presented. It was a red basket overflowing with plush animals. "I knew you wouldn't use it, so I forgo-ed the food and just filled it with Beanie Babies," Mike pointed out, clearly happy with his own decision. Marionette was as well; he gave a further chime of eager delight and took the red colored basket into his hands.

"Oh, I love it!" Marionette finally spoke to show his delight. He then started to eagerly shuffle through the box; counting and analyzing each of the plush toys waiting inside. "They're adorable!" Mike seemed pleased with the results.

"And that's not all," he added as he turned to the last bag. "I was thinking about it and since we got out of Afton's all we've done is lament, sulk, and beat around the bush as much as possible. We should be celebrating surviving the night, not regret things that we couldn't control." As he announced this he got out a few video tapes from the final bag. "So, I rented some bad movies and we're going to have actual fun on our own. What do you think?" He was smiling again, confident and coaxing. It was as though old Mike had broken back through.

This all surprised Marionette. Something didn't seem to make sense. "It makes perfect sense to me! But Natalie, what about her?" Mike knew he would ask and handed the tapes over, then headed to the pantry to get the popcorn.

"Natalie was cool with it. In fact, she thought it was a good idea." Mike put a new popcorn bag into the microwave and turned it on. "She helped me find a place that sold those things," Mike added as he gestured to the plush animals. Marionette hugged a few of them closer out of reflex. Then the security guard coughed, rubbed his sore back, and slipped in, "She saw you at the hospital, you know. That wasn't Jeremy." When Marionette didn't answer, Mike became slightly concerned and glanced back.

There was something that always amused Mike about seeing the usual smiling face contort into complete shock. Maybe it was because he knew that Marionette couldn't control it. Whatever it was, it certainly had its charm. "It could've been worse," Mike shrugged. Marionette reacted by making a noise similar to a ringing dial tone. White pinpricks appeared in his eyes and frantically shifted around; there came the panic. "Hey, relax, okay?" Mike grasped his shoulder and nearly shook him out of it. "Natalie won't say anything. The only thing that changed is that she probably questions my judgement."

He was joking, of course, winking to show it before heading back to fixate on the popcorn. Marionette managed to calm down a bit, "I thought I was being so careful too… It was Foxy. He kept me awake all night singing." Anything to make him feel less mortified.

"I know how he sings," Mike pointed out. "Our pictures got back too. I haven't opened them yet." He didn't even have to point out the envelope in one of the bags. Marionette was instantly cured of his shock and was eagerly digging through the plastic bag until he found the envelope. He fought back the thought of Natalie seeing him, a horrifying thought, and opened the envelope in one fluid motion. Inside was a stack of pictures. Most of them were ones that Fritz had taken; pictures of the animatronics, of the Pizzeria, even pictures of the parking lot.

The back two were the pictures that Mike and Marionette had taken together. "The first one didn't make it," the puppet murmured with a noise of disapproval. Mike reached out, clearly wanting to see it, and he was handed it over. Around where Marionette was standing in the picture was a sort of distorted whiteness. Part of Mike made it through, but Marionette was completely gone. "But… This one looks perfect!" Marionette chimed in delight as he looked over the second photo. This time the distortion wasn't present in the slightest.

"I should show that to Natalie," Mike volunteered before looking for himself. Marionette couldn't deny the immediate uncomfortable feeling that overtook him. "Or maybe we'll just frame it and hang it up somewhere," Mike offered secondly, this being the more favored option. "Anyway, pick out which of those movies you want to start with. I'm pretty sure each of them is going to suck in one way or another," Mike pointed out matter-of-factly.

Marionette silently agreed and went to begin their evening. With absolutely nothing to go on except the name of the video, the videos didn't even have proper cases, Marionette randomly chose one and put it in. Mike had already appeared with the popcorn and was on the couch. Before Marionette could relax though, he found that he had to reassure himself on one fact.

"Mike, are you sure you want to do this? You could have gone out tonight. You don't have to be stuck with me," Marionette pointed out. He wasn't sure why this entire event was making him so self-conscious. Mike never gave any indication that he was unhappy with this choice, but Marionette found it still surprising. Mike used to always love

"I'm not stuck with you, Mari, I wanted to stay in with you," Mike insisted. "I changed my mind about going out. What am I really going to do anyway? I don't like people enough to mingle." This got a chime from Marionette. "I want to be here with you."

"Well…" Marionette rubbed his own arm. "I'm glad." He then moved to sit down on the couch. He folded his legs comfortably and relaxed, taking in the moment. Everything he needed was right here and Mike genuinely wanted to stay with him for the night. It was perfect… Except the movie. The movie was completely awful. It did rouse a few chuckles out of Mike at least. It was during one of these chuckles that Marionette realized he was paying much more attention to Mike than the movie.

Maybe he was reading too much into this. Mike just invoked a friendly or brotherly gesture to someone who he had become partners with. Simple, innocently straightforward, and yet Marionette found himself reaching for something more, found himself questioning it. It reminded him of the friendship between Fredbear and Bonnie on the 'Fredbear and Friends' cartoon that he watched so frequently. They were always helping each other, always spending time together. To the point where they seemed closer than anyone else.

Suddenly Marionette was interested in the season that he avoided so much. Sure, it would be difficult to watch, but could it be possible that their friendship would intensify? Would he be able to further compare his relationship with Mike to them? At least it would walk him through this a little better. It felt odd to be so close when even Goldie kept his distance. Goldie would've never gone to this much trouble to do something with so much inconsequence. Watching movies was purely for enjoyment; Goldie wasn't satisfied unless enjoyment also brought results.

And, to be honest… Goldie could be cold.

Marionette hadn't allowed himself to think about the bad times after Goldie moved on. It was too hard to think about him being gone period, so to think about him being gone and the more melancholic memories was simply too much. He just hadn't been able to face them. Now they returned; Marionette hid behind his smile and Mike's distraction and let them flow. While he owed everything to Goldie, and Goldie encouraged him greatly, he did get angry. He wasn't always patient and certain.

Goldie also showed little care for the other animatronics. At most, he treated them more like tools than anything else. Marionette knew about the grudge he held towards the four characters, but he suppressed his anger well. The only evidence at all that Goldie wasn't fully over it was his reluctance to interact with the others. When he wanted to direct then he went to the puppet, and then the puppet would lead the others. However, Marionette didn't usually invoke any frustration from Goldie, even when a mistake happened under him.

Except for one incident.

Goldie had been firm about a night guard who he adamantly believed was the Purple Man. Though this wasn't the first time Goldie had suspected such, this time he seemed especially certain. So, it would only make sense that the animatronics would be told to give more. After all, it was Friday. This was their last chance to strike before the weekend worker came in. It had all made sense, had been precise enough that he himself planned to appear inside the office once they got close enough, to finish the job himself.

Except that this had never happened. Toy Bonnie and Toy Chica had been especially slow, Balloon Boy couldn't get into the office, Foxy was even more sensitive to the flashlight than usual, neither of the Freddy characters could get to the office; it was a complete and total disaster. As though it couldn't get any worse, the 'Purple Man' spent the entire time on the phone. He wasn't even overly trying to stay alive and yet nothing could get a foothold into the office. Goldie was furious, but observant enough to notice something.

"You were unwound." Any conversation that began with Goldie sounding this disappointed was sure to go in a sour direction. This time, however, the accusation was pointed at Marionette himself.

He easily shrugged it off, "I didn't have time. Six arrived before I could even climb out of my box." Though he wasn't exactly rushing. To be entirely honest, this was the first time that Marionette did not believe their target was the Purple Man. As purple as he looked, something just seemed too familiar about him, so Marionette had toned it down.

"I don't believe that," Goldie announced. "And now he waltzed out the front door. Who knows if he's going to work the night shift again. Out of everyone, I thought I could trust you to be reliable."

Marionette felt a sudden surge of guilt course through him. Goldie wouldn't look at him any longer and Marionette moved closer, "Goldie, I… I did try." Maybe this was a lie, but the puppet didn't think he failed that much. Goldie seemed so distraught that his plan didn't work and it made the striped animatronic feel worse. He reached out to touch him, to comfort him, to reassure him that he was here and was going to do better, but stopped when the other continued.

"It's just not good enough." Marionette recoiled his hand as though struck or burned by the words. "You're just going to have to do better than this. I know you can do better than this" the other insisted. "They need you, you don't want to let them down." The puppet nodded slowly and pulled back, rubbing his arms in discomfort. He didn't expect to hear this; he thought he had been doing well enough that one slip wouldn't be that big of a deal. He didn't expect that Goldie would be this angry. There was anger too, even though Goldie's voice was quiet.

"More children are at risk," Goldie continued. "And you waste too much time. You could've been out of that box in a moment, but you're forgetting what you're supposed to be doing. You're not here to entertain the kids, you're here to protect them." Marionette knew this, and still he found the other's sudden reprimand alarming, cold. He didn't know this being who just turned on him, he couldn't, because why would his friend say these things? Goldie had turned to face him now, but Marionette then turned away; he couldn't hide from the other's gaze.

"Remember what brought you here. What your purpose is," Goldie reminded in a gentler tone. Though this time the words were in stark contrast to what he was feeling. With a stiff nod, he agreed, but he didn't speak. He didn't want to, he didn't even know if he could anymore. Slowly, he turned and started to leave. "And Mari..." the other added in. "They're counting on you." Marionette didn't respond, he just continued back into the Prize Corner. Though it wasn't as though he could shut out the voice. After all, he owed Goldie everything. He would do whatever was asked of him.

It had been the worst moment Marionette had with Goldie. Even Goldie moving on hadn't left Marionette feeling as worthless as he had then. He had been entirely berated and, while he did go easy on the night guard, it just felt like it had been too much. After then, he had been careful not to disappoint Goldie. He had moved quicker, he focused harder, and he stopped letting night guards off the hook. Not that it mattered much; soon afterwards the toy animatronics were recalled and Marionette was no longer left on the floor.

He hadn't intended to ruin his evening with Mike thinking about Goldie. Not when Mike had done so much. Though it was quite a revelation to realize that he felt much more comfortable, much closer, and more relaxed with Mike. It was a terrible thought, but maybe he was happier with Mike. It felt like a betrayal above all else. Goldie had been his best friend… But Mike had bypassed it. He didn't know what it was, but he couldn't ignore what had been happening. He had become close to him. Maybe he was too close.

Marionette slumped over against Mike's shoulder. The security guard glanced to him with a quizzical expression, but Marionette didn't retract himself. "I'm not losing you already, am I?" Mike teased and took another bite of popcorn. The animatronic turned into his shoulder.

"No. I'm fine," that was all Marionette said. He didn't need to say anything more. Mike still looked confused, but didn't push the animatronic away. He didn't even tense; he just continued to eat popcorn and watch the movie. Slowly Marionette returned to his previous mood before thinking about Goldie. Something about being allowed to be so close to Mike erased the memories entirely. He still struggled to focus on the film, but it started to get better the further he calmed back down. At least he had this contact.

Eventually Mike got bored of the popcorn and shifted his arm to drape behind Marionette on the back of the couch. It wasn't exactly any sort of direct message, but it gave Marionette the signal that he wasn't in the way. This was more than Goldie could give. Whether or not Marionette could admit that he cared for Mike more, he could certainly admit one, cold fact.

He was happier with Mike than he ever was with Goldie.

It felt weird doing this. Natalie normally would've never even considered it, but she still wanted to have the night off. Mike hadn't been up to it, deciding to return home to arrange something with Marionette. This didn't bother Natalie. On the contrary, seeing Mike so determined to do something for someone else made her happy. For the time they worked together, Mike had never been one to go out of his way to do something special for someone else. He had never portrayed himself as the type to get sentimental.

There was another person she could ask, but she hesitated to dial the number. It was going to be awkward, he would find her weird, but she found herself dialing the number anyway. The phone rang a couple of times and half of her wished that he wouldn't answer the phone. However, he did answer.

"Hello?" he asked over the line. He sounded welcoming; it didn't sound like she interrupted him from something.

"Hey, it's Natalie. Umm… I was going to hang out with Mike, but he decided to head home to Mari, so… I was wondering- and I know this might be a little weird- but would you like to go out and get something to eat? Or we could, I don't know, catch a movie or something." Natalie took Mike's own idea and offered it to the man. There was a moment of silence. A long moment where he was considering it or stuck in surprise.

"…Yeah, okay. I'd like that. Should I pick you up somewhere?" he certainly did sound surprised, but Natalie could only feel relief.

"Oh, no, I'm in my car still. How about I meet you over there? We'll figure out what we'll see once we get there," she suggested. She felt an eager smile of success passing her lips.

"Sounds like a plan! I'll be there-," she could hear him shuffling around something metal on a desk, "-I'll be there in a few minutes, if I can find my keys."

Natalie lightly snickered at his flustered tone. "I'll see you there!... And, uh, Fritz? Thanks."

It the few weeks following the incident at Afton Robotics', things had gone a bit quicker in pace. Mike slowly got better over the time. Even though he was still dealing with muscle soreness and had to be careful straining himself, and the closing wound had yet to close all the way, the pain was starting to recede more every day. This meant that he could start returning to normal activities. He no longer took medication, but still was going to physical therapy to make sure the muscle continued to repair. Every step was closer to recovery.

Mike's improving health had contributed to the Pizzeria greatly as well. Over this time there had been one more birthday to practice with, which went well, and the Pizzeria itself had been worked on further. More machines for the arcade were brought in, the fake track was fully put in, and Fritz had finally managed to find a company willing and able create merchandise for the restaurant. With all said and done, with almost everything finished and funds needing to come in, Pirate Foxy's Pizza finally opened its doors.

The first day started out relatively easy. Only two birthday parties had been scheduled for the opening day, but plenty of children had gotten curious enough to patronize the business on the first day. This would've normally been overwhelming for a business that consisted of only three workers. Though it quickly became apparent that, without the restraints that Freddy's had placed on them, Foxy and Marionette were intending to completely overtake the situation. Foxy made it very apparent that he would not stay on his stage.

With Fritz stuck in the kitchen and Jeremy skittering around trying to keep everything in place, Mike was left with the role as security guard yet again. Marionette had noticed though that he vanished at one point during the busy day. The puppet had been out in the party room while Mike was there, but the moment he was gone he found himself retreating into the Prize Corner. This was a sort of defense mechanism on his own part; he needed a minute to breathe. Thankfully, the children were mostly distracted with Foxy.

They came to Marionette exclusively for ticket exchange and prize collection, though few children had yet to collect enough tickets for prizes. The Prize Corner itself was glorious; or it was in Marionette's opinion. Foxy plush toys lined some of the shelves, hung from the ceiling, and came in three different styles; normal Foxy, pirate hat Foxy, and gold colored Foxy. Why Foxy had a gold version of him, Marionette didn't know. There were also a few plush toys that resembled himself, one of which he had already stashed in his box to take home later, but that paled in amount to the foxes.

There were also T-shirts, hats, small trinkets, candy, pizza and cake vouchers, and much more. It felt crowded and Marionette loved it. Because of short staffing, Marionette also managed making the balloons. These would also be passed out or exchanged for, and a cluster of them were already tied out of the way to be retrieved for later. Returning to his box was a relief, though Marionette didn't close himself inside. He instead stayed idle, half out of the box, waiting for either another child or for one of the birthday celebrations to require him.

"-But this is just the first day, so we don't expect this every day," Mike could be heard talking outside the door. Marionette was perplexed to hear that the security guard had returned, but was pleased to know he was nearby. This made him more comfortable when a small group of kids eagerly hustled in to exchange tickets for prizes. Only one of those kids decided to leave and continue saving his tickets. The rest of them were much too overeager to spend their tickets on trinkets and candy.

Marionette hadn't noticed until they left that there was someone peeking in the doorway. To his delight, it was the young girl who he had met before, who he had once scared in her bedroom. As expected, she shyly peeked in at him. He had to lure her in with a basket of chocolate coins, offering her some of the free candy that he was allowed to give out. The girl moved in closer and took a couple of them tentatively. Marionette chimed happily at her tiny smile and looked upwards just in time to feel a jolt. The basket of coins slipped from his fingers.

Outside the room, there was Mike leading none other than Natalie around the Pizzeria. Mike had been trying to get Marionette to meet Natalie since she revealed what she knew, but the puppet had cleverly slid out of any opportunity. There was always an excuse that he could muster. This time Mike seemed to have noticed as this was a total ambush. He knew it was only a matter of time before they arrived at the Prize Corner.

Upon looking down, Marionette realized he dropped the candy and he began to reach down to get it. The girl silently helped, kneeling on the tiles and scooping up the pieces. It was short work and once they had raised again, Marionette insistently offered the girl more candy. She seemed reluctant at first, but eventually took another coin. After a few moments of standing there, she directed her attention to the plush toys. "How much for those?" the girl squeaked out. Her voice was very soft, very unsure, but he could hear it fine.

He gestured over to where a display tag was. A Foxy hung over it, so he nudged it back out of the way, letting her see the amount of tickets needed. Which was a little steeper than Marionette would have preferred. He understood why it had to be though, with the Pizzeria just starting and needing a higher incentive. She got a small smile, gave a quiet 'alright', and hurried out of the Prize Corner. Marionette would've surely offered her a few free tokens, but she left too quickly, and suddenly his eyes were on the doorway.

He swore Mike looked smug standing there. Probably because Marionette couldn't actually flee from the room unless he teleported, which he wasn't able to do being that it was still a busy day. The security guard moved in a few steps and, as expected, Natalie followed him in. The puppet immediately went still, stuck in his default pose. He couldn't move, though he didn't really want to move anyway. Natalie looked more uncomfortable than he did, perhaps a little afraid, and he fought the urge to abruptly teleport away.

Though it almost instantly got worse when he realized he had used his telekinesis in front of the young girl, and neither he nor her noticed. That sudden shock was almost enough to dull the alarm of having Mike waltz in with Natalie.

"This is the Prize Corner. It's self-explanatory; kids come in and get prizes," Mike explained as he moved closer to the box. "This is the Marionette animatronic. He doesn't speak when he's on the clock, so he's just going to stiffly smile at you. I'd tug at his strings, but I'm the one taking him home later," Mike teased before looking to him and winking. Winking as though he thought this was a joke. Between that and the situation he was in, Marionette felt like he was in some sort of nightmare, slowly turning his head to stare at Mike.

"Occasionally you get some slight movement out of him," Mike pointed out matter-of-factly, resting a hand on the edge of the box. "…After we close, you'll be able to get more acquainted… Which is a lucky break. Getting this far involved me having to come in for work." This time Natalie gave a strained giggle, trying to be polite but clearly unsure what to say or do.

"Alright, so let me show you the kitchen," Mike announced to break the tension. He began to lead her back out of the Prize Corner, pausing in the doorway and sending Marionette a more thankful smile. Then they were gone. Yet Marionette did not feel better. He was still restless, driven, and knew that he couldn't just hide away in the Prize Corner. He slid out of his box and approached the doorway.

He didn't know what Mike was planning, but he could almost guarantee that it wouldn't work.

Mable: Mike's already made a horrible mistake… Let's be honest, considering Marionette's personality I have no doubt he would become obsessed with collecting Beanie Babies. Mike, what have you created?! And more Goldie, naturally. Those memories can't stay trapped behind rose glass forever, you know? Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed! See you next Saturday!