Mable: Hello! Time for today's chapter! Sorry about the delay, as I had to add some on. But first, a quick note.
This is a personal request to readers. Please stop sending me anonymous reviews that just say 'I liked the story, but I don't like the romance, so I'm not reading anymore'. This passive-aggressive comment does nothing but stress me out. It's not constructive, it won't affect the story, so please stop leaving them. If you don't like the romance and decide that it's enough to stop reading, then that's fine, but I don't need the unneeded burden of reading this… Thing. It's not even really a comment. It's more like a complaint.
I try my best to keep getting out weekly chapters so if you could just maybe help alleviate my stress by not sending me these reviews, I'd be much obliged. Also, if you're under the impression that saying the romance made you leave will stop the romance, then you are mistaken. I will take suggestions from readers and do want to make them happy, but it's unrealistic for me to entirely write out a plot point. Especially for guest reviewers who won't use even fake names. Both times it has just been 'guest'.
Thank you to the readers who have left supportive reviews or who continue to read even if you're unsure about the coupling. Your continued support makes this all worthwhile and I thank you for respecting me enough to not try and guilt trip me. Because of that… I'm going to give you something that you asked for a long time ago. Not just yet, but very soon. You'll see.
Anyway, here we are with the chapter! Enjoy!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Fifty
Marionette roused to the sound of voices, the feeling of warmth, and the smell of cologne. He knew he was against Mike immediately, enwrapped in his grasp and stuck between him and the back of the sofa. From their changed position, he immediately knew that the man must have laid down with him. At least he kept his promise to stay with him. Then there were the whispering voices from nearby.
"You have to see this," it was Natalie. He could hear and feel her by the door to the office. There were footsteps before someone else was standing with her. "Isn't that cute?"
"That's something, alright," it was Fritz. His voice held amusement that Marionette could detect even through the whispering. It was now that he realized that they were talking about Mike and him. Self-consciousness passed through him and he began to feel their gaze more heavily on him. With an inward huff, he pressed tighter against Mike.
"Hey, don't give them a hard time," Natalie lightly scolded. "I know that look. If you go poking at them, they're just going to start avoiding each other for a few more days." Apparently, that was the conclusion she took from those few awkward days where the human and the Puppet kept at a distance. She was somewhat right, but it wasn't Fritz that had triggered it.
"…I've got to at least make a toy comment. This is too ironic," Fritz playfully bickered back and Natalie snickered.
"You've got a bad sense of humor. Why do I hang out with you again?... Oh, right, the van," she quipped back with a teasing smile. "You just go make sure everyone's leaving. I'll spare Mike dealing with you and wake him myself." In a way, Marionette didn't know whether to be relieved or not. Fritz wandered off into the pizzeria while Natalie moved closer to shake Mike awake.
Mike tried to shrug her off at first, but then slowly roused from his sleep. He blinked a little before starting to turn back and staring at the woman. It took a few more moments before it all sunk in. Where he was, what he was doing, and why Natalie appeared all rolled in at once. Then there was this look of brief uneasiness; he suddenly realized what state he was caught in.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we're winding down to close and were thinking that you probably didn't want to get locked alone in the office all night," Natalie said with a playful smile. Still teasing, but much more light and less suggestive than Fritz would ever say. As though Fritz could ever figure out what was really going on. Mike fidgeted and slid upwards on the sofa's armrest.
"Yeah, thanks. I'll be out in a minute," Mike answered groggily. He went to fix his hat, not realizing that it had already fallen off and was laying on the floor beside the couch. Natalie headed back out with the same smile; that knowing, amused one. With an exhale, Mike glanced down to the Puppet.
"That could've gone worst. Glad it was Nat and not somebody else," Mike said. He didn't have any idea that Fritz already stopped them. He reached out and gave the mask a reassuring caress, "Any better?" That light chiming, the warbling, returned. Mike had come to recognize it as a signal of affection or contentment, or even both. He was already becoming familiar with these none-verbal but vocal responses.
Marionette was already feeling better. It would still take a few nights of sleeping to return to full strength, but the relief of not having a nightmare, not seeing her, was enough to make him feel like new. He had to thank Mike's insistence for it to, which he intended to do now that they were alone and he had his hands on him. He lifted himself further and pressed his forehead against the human's, caressing his cheeks. Even though he knew that the others could be suspicious, he found himself wanting to risk getting caught. It was so thrilling.
Especially since Mike was now his alone. "Mari…" The Puppet kissed his chin lovingly. "Mari, your brother's going to see us and lose it." He moved to his cheek, nuzzling into the skin after he kissed it. "Mari."
"He probably would. I'm not supposed to trust guys in purple," Marionette reminded. Mike didn't dislike the attention, quite the contrary, but he expected Natalie to return if they didn't appear out of the office sooner or later. He still managed to get a relatively easygoing smirk.
"Stop flirting with me, we still have a job to do," Mike pointed out as he tried to sit upwards a bit more. He collected his jacket, which had slid off the Puppet's shoulders, and slipped it halfway on. "Good to see that you're feeling better."
"Oh, you noticed?" Marionette seemed to enjoy all of this a bit too much. However, he did as Mike suggested and drew himself back. "I love you."
Mike withheld any immediate words, but let himself indulge, cupping Marionette's chin and tilting his mask upwards. "Ah, you're adorable." He only barely caught the sound of footsteps and abruptly pulled back. He turned as he stood, pulling on his jacket and buttoning quickly, and Marionette watched in total amusement.
As expected, Natalie reappeared. "Just making sure you didn't fall back asleep," she explained as she glanced between the two. She then smiled at the animatronic. "How are you feeling, Mari? Better?"
Things between the two were on good terms, though Marionette was still reserved around the blond. That being said, he still gave a regular answer. "Much better, thank you. How was the Prize Corner?"
"Not too bad. There was a girl asking about you though. She's still in there," Natalie forewarned.
"I thought we were closing," Mike pointed out curiously.
"We are. Her parents aren't here and she hasn't left yet," Natalie explained. Worry started to slip onto her features. "I'm a little worried about her." It was now that Marionette raised off the couch.
"I believe I know her. Let me see to her; maybe she needs help getting home." If it was the girl he expected, his little fan, then he wanted to make sure she got home safely. Marionette bypassed Natalie and headed out into the rest of the pizzeria. Natalie followed and Mike grabbed his hat before following, trying to snap himself out of his lingering fog. It wasn't his first time in this sort of relationship, but it was the first time that he had to actively hide it, and it wasn't exactly helping his paranoia. At least he was continuously reassured that it was worth it.
Marionette knew this as well, but found himself worrying about more important things. Currently, it was the little girl, and he attached his strings back to the track as he headed to the Prize Corner. She was already standing at his box and trying her hardest to peer inside of it. Thankfully, she was too young to be able to question why there wasn't any machinery in the bottom of his box. Instead there was simply a few plush toys and a bed of collected tickets. She could make her own assumptions of why they were there.
She only noticed him once he made an attentive chime. She looked back to him and her eyes widened with surprise and joy. "You're okay!" she cried out and scurried closer. Though she didn't dare come close enough to actually touch him; she was still too shy to do something so bold. "I got so scared when you fell down and went to sleep. A-Are you better?" Technically he did 'fall down and go to sleep', funny enough. It got an amused chime out of him. He nodded in reassurance and moved closer. He reached out and patted her head.
"Oh, good," the girl smiled a bit more honestly. "Did your strings break?"
How was he supposed to answer when he wasn't supposed to speak? Apparently, the girl realized this herself as she continued. "I-I know its closed, but I wanted to stay and see you wake up again," she said in an apologetic tone. She fidgeted with a paper in her hands and looked down at her feet. "I drew you a picture." She awkwardly thrust it outwards towards him, hiding into herself as she did so, as though she was truly embarrassed by her drawing ability. Which was rare, as the children he had met usually didn't worry about something like that.
Marionette happily took the drawing and eagerly looked over it. It was adorable; she had drawn both of them together, holding hands, with both smiling wide on the picture. In the top right, she had signed 'Chrissy and Marry' in pink crayon; this was the first time that he had a hint towards her name. Warmth spread along his fingers and he chimed happily. It had been so long since a child had drawn a picture of him and even then, he had never gotten one like this. Freddy and Foxy were the ones who were prone to the 'friendship pictures'.
"Do you like it?" 'Chrissy' asked, peeking upwards at the animatronic she admired. Marionette decided that he liked it too much to answer with a tune alone.
"I love it," Marionette trilled. He then watched in amusement as the girl's mouth dropped open. "I'll tape it up right behind my box!"
"You- You can talk!" Chrissy gasped dramatically. "You never talk! When'd you learn to talk?!"
"I've always been able to talk!" Marionette revealed with his ever-present smile. "I just am a little shy. I just try to stay quiet when there's so many people around." It was partially true, but not the actual reason that he stayed silent, which was mostly out of reflex. Maybe years ago, it was triggered by his shyness, as he had just been a child who became an animatronic. There was no need to drone on about his life story and methods. A simple answer would work.
"Okay!" Chrissy accepted the answer. She just looked so happy and this made him happy in return.
"Thank you for waiting for me, but do your parents know you're here? They must be worried about you!" Marionette pointed out. He didn't want to risk upsetting her, especially after she had made him such a nice gift.
"They don't care," she shrugged off before returning to the topic at hand. "You really, really like it?"
"I really, really love it! In fact, I'll put it up right now." Physically, he moved to the other side of the counter and searched for the tape. Mentally, he began to focus in on that one comment. 'They don't care' didn't sit right with him. Though he knew he could've easily been exaggerating. After all, children didn't overthink what they said. 'They don't care' could easily mean 'I didn't ask or tell'. For the moment, he ignored it, and instead proceeded to tape the drawing to the wall behind his box.
"There! Now I can keep it close by and look at it whenever I need a smile!" he chirped happily. "Thank you!" Her shyness continued to prevail. She was smiling herself, but still obviously sheepish, and he couldn't wait to see if he could get through that last barrier. He found himself sidetracked when he noticed Fritz cleaning off a table out in the dining room. Again, they were still closing and it was getting rather. His concern was clear, but he decided to talk it off.
"Would you like to play a game while we wait for your parents to get here?" Marionette offered and retrieved a token from his stash. "Maybe you'll win something to take home!"
"I'm riding my bike home… But can we play? Is there time?" Chrissy sent a hesitant look out at Fritz. Apparently, she knew of the coming closing time.
"O-Of course! We can always make an exception," the Puppet insisted. Though he was feeling a growing dread. A child travelling home alone when it was already getting dark was simply not going to happen. Maybe if it was summer and the sun set later, but not when it was already on twilight. Children wandering outside would only be at risk. Goldie made sure that he had known that. As much as he currently questioned his former protector and companion, he absolutely agreed with Goldie's concerns. He knew about that one incident.
Marionette offered his hand to her, which she eagerly took. "Let's go have fun!" He decided to worry about how she would get home later and instead try and make their brief time special. He took her to the arcade, she chose a game- one of the Foxy themed games that outlasted Freddy's, which involved flying in a plane and shooting at enemies. It made little sense to why a pirate would be in a plane and not a ship, but it was still in good condition, and it was one of the games that was built to dispense tickets based on how well one played.
At first, the others noticed the child still being there but didn't step in. They were still cleaning anyway and Foxy had already retreated to his curtain. It only became more apparent when it went on fifteen minutes and the game was still going. Especially when it was clear that the girl had lost at least once and had yet to put in any more tokens.
Eventually, Mike approached Fritz about this, noticing that the game was clearly lasting longer than expected. "So, is she a prodigy at the game or is he cheating?" he bluntly asked, not having to clarify either point any further.
Fritz had been in the process of writing down a few receipts when he had noticed the scene. After watching long enough, he knew exactly what was going on. "He's just reusing the same token over and over," the technician pointed out. "Stand on this side and watch. You'll see it." There was some amusement, but he was also distracted with what he was doing. Mike circled the table as suggested and stood behind his friend. It wasn't unusual for Fritz to do paperwork out in the party room; Mike suspected that he didn't like the claustrophobia of the office either.
It only took a few minutes before the girl lost and the screen began to count down. Marionette casually slipped his hand down and slid the token into the slot. After a moment, he flicked his wrist back and the token came back out, being pulled by a string that wrapped around it before wrapping around Marionette's wrist and virtually disappearing into his body. He wasn't just cheating; he was cheating using his own strings. Mike couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. One wouldn't expect an employee to cheat at an arcade game.
"We're docking his pay," Mike quipped and Fritz gave him a look, and a smirk, and Mike had a feeling that he knew what was coming.
"I'm sure you'll figure out some sort of adequate punishment. Maybe send him to bed without supper?" Fritz suggested with a raised brow. This took Mike aback.
"Huh… Not exactly what I was expecting," Mike thought to himself. Indeed, he expected something much more embarrassing.
"Whose bed you send him to is still up to debate," Fritz added in, the smugness appearing in his voice.
"He never fails to disappoint…" The security guard gave an audible groan. "Look, I don't know what you're- I know exactly what you're implying, and it's not funny anymore."
"When did it stop being funny?" Fritz asked curiously. It was as though he was generally curious and not as though he was making somewhat appropriate hints.
"Since- Since it became real- Since you started repeating yourself," the younger answered. "Now if you excuse me, I have to go stop a punk from tampering with the machines." He had to get away from the area before he became too obvious. He approached the two at the game and watched as the girl played and Marionette coached. When the game ended again sometime later, Mike decided to interrupt with a cough and it stopped Marionette from resetting the game yet again. The puppet looked back to him and the girl did as well.
"We're going to have to close down soon," Mike forewarned. He didn't notice the brief twitch of discomfort that passed Marionette's face and looked to the girl, who was meekly hiding behind the Puppet's legs. Somehow, she didn't notice that he was off his track, or perhaps noticed and didn't care. "Can we call your parents? It's a little too dark to have you walking home by yourself." The Puppet looked tentatively back to the child again, hoping that she would change her answer.
"I've got my bike…" Chrissy explained with a quiet squeak.
Suddenly, Marionette drew attention by clapping his hands together. "I have a great idea!" he chirped and looked to the girl. "Why don't you let Mike drive you home? He's a very special friend of mine, so he wouldn't mind at all!" He hoped she would say yes, but she seemed a little hesitant.
"I... I don't know… I'm not supposed to ride with strangers," she pointed out. This sent Marionette reeling.
"Oh- No- Of course you're not!... Which is why I would be coming too!" Marionette continued, trying to keep himself on track. "I could even ride in the backseat with you! What do you say?" While Mike wasn't too certain about this idea, it finally was enough for the girl to agree to. "Perfect! Now why don't you collect your tickets so we can find something for you to take home? We have new pencil toppers." He soon led the girl back to the Prize Corner. Mike quickly related the situation to Fritz before heading outside.
He busied himself with fitting the girl's bike into the backseat, as it wouldn't fit in the trunk. It would be awkward, but it left her seat open and gave Marionette enough room to squeeze in beside the bike. Marionette was quick in ushering the girl into the car and slipping in himself, as to not be spotted, and carefully covered himself with the blanket kept in the back. The girl was now cradling another Puppet plush and one of the pencil toppers that also looked like him, and her smile even matched his.
Mike occasionally listened in on their conversation during the drive. Chrissy, though Mike didn't know her name, talked about her school and about riding her bike. She talked about liking horses and monkeys, about visiting the zoo; just about whatever topic she could switch to. The whole while, Marionette listened with complete interest and only occasionally added in with a question or answer. The only times when the talk would stop would be when Mike required directions to where her home was.
Finally, the drive ended outside of a two-story house with a nicely kept lawn. Chrissy gathered her things and Mike removed the bike from the back. A few short goodbyes, some waving, and a few promises to see each other soon commenced. Then she headed to her house, leaving her bike by the door, and let herself in. Being that she was safe, Mike started to head home.
"Isn't she wonderful?" Marionette suddenly gushed. "I just wish I could take her home and have her be my little girl! She's adorable!"
"Yeah," Mike agreed, "and it helps that she practically worships you."
"Oh, she's just so sweet. If only every child in the Pizzeria could be such a doll!" the Puppet finished with. He continued to chime in delight for a few more moments. Then he changed his tune, "What should we do tonight? I feel so much better; let's do something special!"
"What kind of special? Do you mean like 'let's get ticked off playing video games' or watching a movie, because I'm fine with either," Mike replied. Marionette continued his options until they had pulled onto their street.
"We have enough time for both. Besides, you slept with me earlier. I doubt you'll be getting-."
"Oh…" Mike interrupted suddenly. "Oh no." His tone was heavy with sudden foreboding. Almost immediately, Marionette felt himself perk with concern and hummed questioningly. "Oh, no way. This isn't happening." Suddenly, the car jolted forward as Mike hit the gas and sped down the road. Marionette briefly looked out the window and got part of an answer.
There was a car in their driveway with three people standing around like they were waiting. The man and one of the women were unrecognizable, but the second woman was clearly Mike's aunt. Mike dropped the increased speed once off the road, but he didn't stop, and they were now going further from their home. The Puppet carefully eyed the back of Mike's head for a moment before quietly asking.
"That was your mother, wasn't it?" Mike's silence was answer enough. This made everything uncomfortable for a few minutes. Then he gave a more lighthearted continuation, "I always wondered if your hair was natural or not." Mike relaxed his shoulders slightly, exhaled slightly, but didn't say anything further. Marionette didn't get enough time under the circumstances to study her, but he had noticed her dark hair and that, possibly, Mike was a bit taller than her. Though that was just an estimation and not a definite.
"Where will we be going?" Marionette asked and Mike now glanced into the mirror.
"Somewhere. When we stop, you can jump back to the house, but I'm not going back and walking into an ambush. I'll sleep in my car before I let that happen," Mike stated with full determination. He glanced into the mirror again, "You might want to stick with me. They already looked like they were going at the windows."
"I'm more than happy to go anywhere with you," Marionette reassured. "Just as long as I eventually return to my children."
"I'm too broke to quit work for good," Mike playfully answered back. This tone dropped under a sudden realization. "The others probably haven't even gotten out of the Pizzeria yet, so unless we want to break and enter, Fritz and Jeremy's are out." A moment passed before he realized that the being in the backseat was very capable of taking this literally. "I don't really want to go to jail, so let's stick with somewhere we can kill time."
"We can always just return to the Pizzeria," Marionette suggested.
"Eh… My aunt knows I work there. Besides, I'm dodging Fritz if I can," Mike pointed out. "Which should only last about twenty minutes."
Marionette became more amused and chimed. "We could waste an entire night and drive to Chippers, break into there, and toy around with the animatronics." He obviously wasn't being serious, but the comment surprisingly inspired a new train of thought. Mike let it sink in for a few moments, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, and then made his own suggestion.
"You want to go to Freddy's?" The silence in the car returned. "We could blow through an hour at Freddy's… We might want to keep an eye on it while we have the chance," Mike suggested. It wouldn't be the first time that he ran to Freddy's because of his own emotional state.
"…Yes." After giving that relatively straightforward answer, Marionette fell silent. It wasn't a long drive to get to the abandoned pizzeria. Freddy's was still stuck in a state of seemingly permanent limbo. It was still planned for demolition, but political red tape, mostly from the direct lack of answers on the missing children, left the building untouched. Mike had no doubt that Freddy's would be demolished eventually, but for now it was stuck in a place between life and death. Then again, that described Freddy's in a nutshell.
Marionette easily unlocked the front door and let them inside. Freddy Fazbear's Pizza was just as expected; cold, damp, and reeked of various types of rot. While he should've immediately felt uncomfortable, Mike felt a piqued interest at seeing the state of the building. He flicked on his flashlight and shined it over the main room.
"Looks like winter didn't slow down the mold," Mike pointed out matter-of-factly as he approached the stage. "You know it's bad when it looked leagues better when I was working here and it was already closed down," he remarked with an amused smirk. Then he glanced back at the Puppet who was also scanning the room with interest. "I think we made a wise decision moving to a new building."
"What was it like when you worked here?" Marionette inquired curiously. "I stopped coming back before you started to work. Elsewise, we would've crossed paths at least once."
"Yeah, what a shame," Mike verbally nudged back. It felt good to ignore the elephant in the driveway. "It was already closed, again. Things were starting to fall out of sorts. Foxy was looking rough; everyone was basically drug through the wringers once or twice… I think I might've seen Goldie once or twice." Marionette perked at this. "Didn't get a good look at him."
"And he never attacked you?"
"I'm still here, aren't I? I looked away and he vanished," Mike pointed out with a slight bit of pride. He continued to display his achievements, "Not one of them got into the office under my watch. They certainly tried, over and over again, but I had it all under control."
"You certainly must have!" Marionette quipped. "…But again, it was- who- Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica? They weren't exactly the most agile of us." He was starting to lead something and the security guard knew it. The striped animatronic turned and headed towards the hall that led to the office. "I could only imagine how much trouble you would've given me."
"Touché," Mike retorted and followed him back towards the office. The office looked about the same. The only notable exception was that the power was off once again. Once in the office, Marionette looked to Mike once more.
"Do you ever wish that you worked at the pizzeria when it wasn't completely in shambles?" Marionette inquired curiously. "I'm not hinting anything about Foxy's. Imagine, Foxy's would be there regardless or not there at all. Do you… Ever miss those nights?" The danger, he meant. The long nights of struggling to stay alive. Normally, this question would be entirely nonsensical, but it did make sense in this context. He knew Mike too well and even though he had been left with scars from those nights, the man repeatedly and willingly went back.
"…I don't know. I'm happy where I am… Can't say that I don't sometimes regret missing the party, you know?" He dropped into the office chair, which wobbled uncomfortably, as though it was about to collapse. "Maybe I could've stopped what happened, maybe not, but it's pretty hard to just accept that you can't help."
"…I know that feeling," Marionette admitted, moving out of view. Mike looked over the monitors on the desk and thought about all the nights he had spent here. All of those terrifying yet exhilarating nights of watching these screens. It felt so weird to be able to look back on it with the hindsight he now had.
He felt the Puppet's hands slide onto his shoulders. "You seem so certain that you could've kept your head around me… Even when Jeremy and Fritz were both lucky at best," Marionette remarked confidently. Then he leaned inwards, his grasp flexing, and propositioned, "Would you like to prove it?"
The challenge suddenly piqued Mike's interest. He slowly leaned his head back. "What are we talking about?" he inquired with a twitch from the corner of his mouth. No smirk yet, not until he heard what was being thought up.
"A friendly competition. We both know that neither of us are threats, so it would simply be a test of our skills. I try to get in and you keep me out; the basic jobs of animatronics and security guards," Marionette explained as though it was as casual as could be. Like he wasn't suggesting that he actively began hunting Mike. "As simple as could be."
"Seems a little one-sided," Mike remarked. He could hear an amused trill from the Puppet and decided to correct any possible misreading of his comment. "I mean, the power's off, so I can't shut the doors or check the cameras, and I've seen you pop into rooms. I need a music box, at least," he pointed out. He wasn't necessarily against the idea still.
"We could make a few rules, maybe? I'm willing to play by them if you are, and it's no fun if you don't have some chance of defending yourself." Marionette relished in each playful prod. He then thought over how to make it more fair. "…Perhaps we can play by flashlight rules. Most of the others were kept at bay by the flashes of a flashlight, as the bright lights more or less confused them. We can pretend that the flashlight is the door; if you have it on, I cannot come inside. I also won't teleport. What do you think?"
"It could work… The one-sidedness might've just switched to the alternate party, though," Mike replied cockily and Marionette chimed in amusement. "You know, Fritz was able to turn the electricity on in the office. Some sort of 'lower system', which is probably a fancy way of saying that he fiddled with the fuses in the backroom." As the animatronic circled him, he noticed visible excitement on his face. "Let's take a whack at that and if it doesn't work, we'll play flashlight tag. Sound good?"
"Perfect! Let me come with you," Marionette insisted and Mike silently agreed, standing from the rickety chair. The walk to the backstage room was mostly uneventful. Unlike when he used to work at the pizzeria, the backstage room was mostly barren. Someone, probably Fritz and Fredrick, had cleared out the shelves of parts and spare suits. Other than a table, the only thing of interest was the fuse box, and even that wasn't too unique considering that there was a locked one on the back of the building.
"Let's see if this still works." Mike flicked on the flashlight and shined it over the switches inside. There were some peeling labels that he tried to read. "With our luck, rats have probably chewed through all the wires."
"I'm not particularly fond of rats," the Puppet tutted as he kept an eye out.
"Because they chew your strings?" Mike offered as he finally noticed a switch that was labelled 'lower system'. He flipped it on and asked, "Any sign of light?"
"Because friendly competition is just a myth," Marionette answered, "And yes. There's a light coming from the hall."
"Then that's it," Mike left the box open as he headed out of the room. Before he could start heading back to the office, he stopped and sent a glance towards the other hall where the bathrooms and secret room resided. He found himself lingering even though he knew Springtrap was no longer there. He was over in the warehouse now and was just as unresponsive as he had been when Mike had 'shut him down'. Lingering questions were still there, but he decided to spare the Puppet.
"If we wanted to deal with parent issues then we would've stayed at the house." With this in mind, Mike returned to the office once again. To his relief, the electricity in the office was on once more and was still functioning somewhat. He began to fiddle with the monitors until the one came on. The security guard got a confident smile as he collapsed back in the chair. "So, here's what I'm thinking," he began. "You can't 'pop in', I can't use any sort of music box, and we play for…" He checked his watch. "How about we just go for an hour?"
"I don't need that long," Marionette playfully quipped back with a chime. He moved back towards the doorway. "Have a good night, Mike." With that, Marionette was gone, and Mike was left alone in the office. It was then that it finally sunk in what he had agreed to. Mike was letting Marionette chase him. He was letting the sock monkey chase him, the- as Marionette usually titled- weasel. He also suddenly put together that the Puppet had actively been calling him a weasel and he had been ignoring it. Again, hindsight.
He looked at the monitor and flipped through the working security cameras and at first Marionette seemed to be gone. It was the light static on the camera of the right hallway that signaled that something was amiss. Naturally, Marionette was unintentionally setting off the camera, and Mike got a light smirk. This smirk was immediately dashed when the sound of the Toreador March broke out through the office. He jumped before huffing and bringing out his cell phone. He expected his aunt and gave a call, "Hold on! I'm getting a call!"
With a click, he answered the call. "Yeah?" There was no response. "Hello?"
"Hello, hello!" a voice introduced from the other side. It was strikingly familiar.
"Phone Guy?" Mike blurted out. Then he immediately reeled, realizing his slip. "Oh, hey! Uh… What's up?" He still had no clue what his name was. He didn't even try.
"Hey, I just wanted to wish you good luck on your first night!" the voice explained. "You've got a long night ahead of you. Just check the doors and keep an eye on the cameras. The electricity shouldn't be a problem, but… Just- Keep your eyes out. Remember, you're not alone in there." As Mike realized that there was no way Phone Guy would know anything about what was going on, he was alerted to what exactly was happening. "It- Uh- It'll try to come in just like the others… But don't trust the cameras too much. It will try to trick you."
Mike was currently staring at the screen and quickly flickered through. This time, the static had moved to the backstage. "Oh yeah?"
"The best thing to do is to listen for it. That's its cue," 'Phone Guy' suggested. "You have no idea what you're getting into." Mike held back a reply of his own; a challenging retort would only rile the animatronic further, and it was obvious that he was the one communicating through the phone. "So, keep an eye out, watch the cameras, listen close, and I'll be coming to get you within the hour." Then the call abruptly ended. Probably for the best, and Mike slipped his phone back into his pocket before flicking through the screens.
There was static in the left hallway and Mike now pushed himself to the doorway. He turned on the light, but could see nothing in the immediate vicinity. He wasn't exactly ready to lower his guard. This turned out to be for the best as, right afterwards, a soft chime could be heard. Though it was from the opposite hall. Mike didn't even fiddle with the light. He lashed out and shut the door, then checked the camera. For a split second, he could see the Puppet in the hallway, but he was immediately gone.
"Still teleporting, just not teleporting in," Mike voiced to himself in almost disbelief. This made things a bit more difficult, but he didn't expect Marionette to 'play too rough'. In a way, the security guard wanted the extra challenge. It wasn't fun if the striped male was too handicapped. He opened the door again and quickly scanned the cameras, seeing nothing, before clicking of the screen and wheeling back to listen. He decided just to pretend that electricity was a factor and, if that was a case, he would have to listen instead of constantly watching.
There were more audio cues than he had heard beforehand. Marionette was chiming a soft song that he couldn't recognize. The soft chiming started to come down the left hallway, but Mike held back from shutting the door. The chiming grew closer and closer, nearly out the side of the door, and Mike's fingers were now on the door closing button. Then, in the last moment, the chime suddenly wavered and changed to the right hallway. Mike had to somewhat scramble to get the right door closed, as he knew that the Puppet was outside the door.
He turned the video back on, but this time was unable to see the Puppet. He briefly reached out to open the door and turn on the light. With Marionette at large again, he began to flick through the various video cameras. The kitchen was unresponsive, as was the bathroom hallway, the closet was empty, and the party room was untouched. He continued trying to change cameras, but to his alarm he found that the monitor was seemingly stuck.
"What the?" Mike muttered to himself as he continued fiddling with the controls. Right when he was about to shut the monitor off, attempting to half-heartedly reboot it, there was movement on the lens. He watched as long, black fingers slowly slid up the camera. Slowly, the hand covered the lens and blocked out vision. "He's playing with me now," Mike inwardly thought. Right at that moment, the camera suddenly went entirely to static, and he huffed. "That's got to be cheating." They didn't clarify whether they could sabotage or not.
He turned off the monitor and turned it back on, hoping to be able to change the camera. To his surprise, the camera was back on again, showing an empty party room. He flipped through the screens before finding that the left hallway had static in its camera. The security guard wasn't ready to jump to conclusions and tried to listen in further. A further hint came from, unsurprisingly, the right hallway. Instead of a chime, he could hear a quiet singing.
"You can only hide for so long.~"
As if Marionette wasn't already making everything incredibly uncanny. By now, Mike was slightly on edge, but shut the right door out of reflex. After all, the hint had said that the audio was more reliable than the cameras were. He paused at the door, listening, before suddenly noticing a glimpse of something black and white out of the corner of his eye. The door light outside the left door was still on. He didn't even turn it off, he immediately just shut the second door. Once glance at the camera showed Marionette passing through the party room, being less stealthy.
"Somebody's getting antsy," Mike smirked inwardly as he opened the door back up and waited. "Come on, Jack-in-the Box. Make your move." He flicked through the cameras before stopping at the right hall's camera, where Marionette was now blatantly standing in view. "Nice try," Mike mentally quipped as he shut the left hall's door. He then leaned out of the right door and shined his flashlight down the hall. There was no sign of the Puppet; it had been yet another trick. He moved back in and turned on the light for the left hall, trying to peer out the left window.
Then, suddenly, everything went dark. The door flew open, the monitor shut off, and Mike was standing in the dark office. "I'll be damned, there was a power limit," Mike numbly thought as he blankly stared at the opened door. Before he could even contemplate what he was going to do, the sound of music broke through the office.
This time, it was the familiar warning tune of 'Pop Goes the Weasel'.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Mike choked out under his breath and started shining the light back and forth between the doors. "Which side?!" It sounded like the music was blaring in from both sides at once. For the first time that night, he felt nervous. He suddenly had a better idea of his coworkers' previous anxiousness towards the Puppet. "Why the hell did I think this was a good idea?! We should've stuck to flashlight tag!"
Then he suddenly appeared; Marionette popped into the doorway. In the few seconds Mike saw him, he was shaking and trembling in either annoyance or excitement. His eyes were aglow with pinpricks of light and had focused directly on the security guard. Mike immediately broke into a sprint and took off down the hallway. He could hear the blaring music on his heels as Marionette feverishly chased him down. The man sprinted down the length of the party room and took a sharp corner towards to the bathroom hallway.
He tore into the closest bathroom, pushed through the door, and held the door closed with his weight. There was a brief thump on the door, like a frustrated smack on the wood of the door. The music died and static replaced it, but it faded away quickly, and everything went silent.
"First thing's first; I need to get the lights back on," Mike addressed to himself as he glanced around the bathroom. "Maybe Mari cut the power. All he would've had to do is flip a fuse." It was the only thing he could think of. If he returned to the office Marionette would find him, but if he continued hiding in the bathroom then he would look like a coward. The best option was to head to the backstage and see if it would work.
He slowly opened the bathroom door and peered out. He decided to keep his flashlight off as he crept out of the hall and into the party room, trying to see adequately through the darkness. Mike kept himself close to the stage and wall around it, slowly sliding down the length of the room, past the stage, and in the direction of the backstage. "It's too quiet…" Mike mentally remarked as he pressed against the wall and slid past a party table that was shoved a little too close to it. "Maybe I should just hide out backstage for a while…"
That's when a tightness suddenly locked around his ankles.
"Of course, he's been staking out the tables…" Mike stumbled to the side, dragging along the Puppet with him as he tried to get out of his grasp. The animatronic only gave a chime of warning before it suddenly sprung, right as he was at the doorway to the backstage. Marionette wasn't even heavy, but what little weight he had, along with the awkward shove, caused the security guard to stumble and fall to the grimy floor. Almost immediately, Marionette wrapped his arms around Mike's shoulders from behind, clinging to him.
By now, Mike wouldn't have been too terribly surprised if Marionette outright tried to strangle him, but instead the Puppet simply held onto him. He began to warble and chime with triumph, nearly bragging through his own delight.
"Okay, okay, I get it," Mike muttered as he started trying to sit upwards. Still, Marionette was clinging to him, and Mike couldn't help but be a little disappointed in walking right into the animatronic's trap. "You win, congrats, but can we please get off this floor before I catch something deadly?"
"Not yet," Marionette quietly requested. "I deserve something for catching you, don't I?"
"Alright, what do I owe you?" Mike slowly returned to playfulness. It was still jarring what happened earlier, how unbelievably determined Marionette had been to unnerve him, but it was an equal relief that the animatronic had returned to his more affectionate side.
"I get to choose anything, right?" Marionette reassured. "No matter how peculiar it is, you will agree to it?"
"Sure…" And suddenly Mike felt his suspicion raise once again. He shifted and heard one of the tiles make a squelching noise beneath him. "Ugh. This floor needs to be burned… What do you want?" The animatronic stayed silent, unmoving as he continued to hold onto the human. "…Mari?" Mike tapped the Puppet's arm and he responded by holding a little tighter.
"I want you to take me back to Afton's Robotics so I can see her," Marionette laid out. This wasn't what Mike expected to hear. It had just been oddly dropped into the conversation and now sat there, lingering, as the two sat on the floor together. "I know it is dangerous… It's so much to ask after what happened last time."
"We can go," Mike spoke without thinking. Maybe he was overcompensating, but it slipped out.
"You… You're really willing to go back?" Marionette asked curiously as he started to release him from his grasp. Mike took this opportunity to stand and offered Marionette his hand. He knew he didn't need it, but he still offered, and he then had his reply.
"Yeah, I am," Mike agreed. "…Because I'm not going to let you get like you were earlier. If this is what's going to cut back the nightmares, then I'll go along with it."
Marionette took his hand and raised off the floor. He looked relieved, "Thank you, Mike… I don't want to go down there alone, but she isn't going to stop until I confront her face to face." He looked downwards and rubbed his arm uncomfortably. "I… I won't let you get hurt this time. I'm not letting either of us get that close. If she won't cooperate then I intend on leaving. Then I'll deal with the nightmares some other way." He shrugged it off, "But let's not think of that now! We, or perhaps I, still need to celebrate thwarting Freddy's best security guard."
"This would've been different if the power wouldn't have gone out," Mike attempted to excuse. Though his pride then slipped. "…But I've got to admit, that was way more impressive than anyone else I've ever dealt with. Even Goldie couldn't get ahold of me." Marionette gave a lighthearted chime and squeezed the human's hand, then started to slowly lead him.
"Perhaps next time, things will go differently," Marionette quietly suggested. Then he turned his attention to the front door. "Let's go see if our home is cleared out. I want to continue our night, but I would prefer not to continue it here."
Mike wouldn't argue. In fact, he wasn't prepared to argue with that 'next time' comment. He could still feel the adrenaline and he loved the rush. Better still, he wasn't leaving with a pink slip and the dread that something was going to get him in his sleep. Ironically, the animatronic was accompanying him home and yet he felt entirely safe.
There would be a next time and when that came, he would be ready.
Mable: Because it is past midnight and this is an extremely long chapter, I'm going to cut off there. XD I hope you enjoyed!