Mable: Again, I just missed Midnight! Ah, what a shame… But I guess it still counts as tonight, so that's something. Numbers are just numbers, really. At least it's earlier than last week's. Without further talk, let's get started!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Fifty-Three
Mike had only heard a little of the conversation between Marionette and Baby. It was impossible to see much through the windows, but he could see the female animatronic's illuminating eyes. Though there was absolutely no signal that the conversation was ending until the sudden 'pulse' in the room. Marionette had teleported into the Circus Control suddenly and almost erratically. Mike had never been able to feel the Puppet teleport this strongly. He looked back at the being who was, tellingly, not willing to face him.
"Come with me," he immediately beckoned before slipping into the vent. Mike followed immediately behind him.
"Is this a 'we're running for our lives' sort of thing?" the security guard called after him. "Because I'd prefer to find out before something crawls after me." The Puppet didn't answer and he took this as being a negative. He would warn him if they were being hunted; this was something else. Once in the Primary Control Room, Mike was able to witness how erratic Marionette was acting. His arms kept moving, kept fidgeting; crossed, uncrossed, rubbing each other, going limp, and he was surprised that 'London Bridge' wasn't blaring from somewhere.
"What's going on? What did she say?" The defense returned on schedule. Suddenly Mike felt the need to overprotect him once more. Whatever Baby had said, he was ready to strike it down.
"Baby pointed out something very peculiar…" Marionette led in before turning to face Mike. He looked extremely concerned about whatever it was. "Mike, be honest with me… Do the Toy animatronics resemble the animatronics down here? I know you've seen little of the other Toys, but you've seen enough. Between their remains and… Myself."
Mike knew he was stepping into a loaded question and proceeded with caution. "If we completely ignore the fact that two of the characters are the same, Freddy and Foxy, then… I don't know, maybe a little, but I think animatronic designs are a little limited. There's only so many ways you can make animatronics look, considering that it's some of the same technology underneath," Mike tried to resolve. "And, hey, you stick with what works. Afton went with what was familiar so that he could make money off the new business."
"That makes sense… But we can't forget that he was still working at Freddy's when the toys were created." At this moment, Marionette calm voice started to falter. "What if he created the toy animatronics? You saw the box, their empty shells, it's almost exactly like these ones were." He gestured his hand out into Ballora Gallery. "We know why these ones came apart so easily, but why did the Toys? Why- Were they taken to the Scooping Room as well? Did Afton dismantle them? We know he dismantled Toy Foxy."
He started to pace and hovered back and forth in the Control Room. It was a short distance, but he continued to do so, growing more agitated. "And the more I try to avoid it, the more I find the links between us. It was bad enough remembering that he was my father, but to think that he created this body-!" His voice broke into static and garbled words. He was a panicked mess and Mike had to physically step in, standing in front of him.
"Let's not overreact about this just yet," he suggested. Marionette paused for only a minute before trying to slip by and continue pacing. He was caught on the arm before he could do so. "Him making your body means nothing if he didn't intend for you to get in it, and considering the bite itself and what happened afterwards, I don't think that was planned. Even these rooms down here that resemble what happened were made after the fact," he insisted. "Nobody would be stupid enough to just assume someone was going to eventually die."
"Maybe not in that sense, but to know he tainted me in this form as well- There could be something, a keyword or sound, that could set me off. I could've been created with a horrible failsafe implemented that I just can't remember!" Marionette gave a pitiful and frustrated look at the ground.
"I doubt that. We would know, Mari. Think about it; we've seen all your quirks in the past. We would've seen a secret child-killing mode at least once," Mike continued to reassure. He could see that the discomfort was not lessened. Marionette simply looked distraught and Mike couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at Baby's role in this. Why would she even bring up where or how Marionette was born? He couldn't ask the Puppet now, so he would only assume that she did it out of some sort of spite.
"But if you're really worried about this, which you are, we can handle this," Mike assured as he got out the radio. He quickly turned it on, "Hey, hey, you there? We could use a little help with some fact checking."
"I'm here, shoot," Phone Guy responded over the line. He sounded a little groggy, as though he had just woken from a nap or the like.
"Do you have any idea whether- the Puppet," he caught himself before he dropped the nickname 'Mari'. It was probably best if he kept things formal with the older man and didn't give up too much of a bias. "-was created by William Afton or not?"
"The Puppet? I… He's not listening, is he?" Phone Guy checked and Mike casually glanced to Marionette, who was very much listening.
"Don't worry about it. What do you know about it?" Mike inquired further.
"Not much, really. The Puppet sort of just appeared when they renovated Freddy's Prize Corner. I know it was one of the Toy animatronics- You know, facial recognition, porcelain bits; they were advanced compared to the original fabric bodies. I'm getting off topic, though. Anyway, I couldn't say who made those ones. You know about Henry Johnson and William Afton; both were working at the time. It could be either of them," Phone Guy explained as best as he could.
"Right. Is there any way to get a concrete answer on this?" Mike asked further, hoping there was a simpler way than guessing.
"Well, yeah. If you could find the Puppet's blueprints it should list the original creator on them," the older casually added in. "You know, they'd probably have those here. Your best bet is to go into the above ground floors and look for some sort of office. If you could find the CEO's office then you would probably have the best bet to find a file cabinet or, better yet, maybe a working computer." This seemed like the best idea and Mike perked at the thought of continuing exploration on the other floors.
"Then that's where we're heading. Thanks," Mike quickly wrapped up and shut off the radio. Then he looked to Marionette, "There we are. We've got a second possibility and a chance at an answer. Let's go see what we can find."
Marionette glanced towards the windows of the Funtime Auditorium, seeing the light of a flashlight from further inside. "What about the others? We will be abandoning them… And there's a possibility of the others still being down here. Baby said that Ennard was still intact down here."
"…Yeah, that's true, but we would be separated either way. The three of them can watch themselves for a couple of minutes," Mike pointed out. He put a hand on his shoulder and steered him to the elevator. "We'll be quick, but we can't let this turn into a nightmare. If we can figure this out, then we should." The Puppet nodded before heading into the elevator. He did pose a question though.
"But what if it does turn out to be true? Physically it won't change anything, but… I don't know. For me, it may change something," Marionette admitted to the human, almost ashamed. He had hoped to stand strong this time, but here he was, weakened by the accusations of another animatronic.
"Worst case scenario, yes, Afton built your body. But he didn't make your body to do with it what you do; he didn't program you with the ability to teleport or to move things with your mind. You did that yourself. I don't know how, but you figured this out on your own," he assured as he pressed the button for the first level. "I doubt there's hidden programming, but if there is then I think you could resist it." To his surprise, Marionette's response was a dry, empty laugh. It was more vocal than chime, just signifying how forced it was.
"I'm nothing but submitting to programming," the Puppet admitted. "Everything I've ever done before- before losing Goldie has been primarily guided by programming, but I don't know whose." The frantic tone returned and he hovered back and forth anxiously, swaying uncomfortably. "Stop the Purple Man, stop all of the purple skinned men, stop the murders, save the children, give gifts, give life, give gifts, give life, save them, stop them, go here, go there- My strings have always been there, but I lost my puppeteer."
"That's not true and I'm about to prove it," Mike firmly stated. "And stop doing that. You're getting yourself worked up again."
"…I know," Marionette's frustration cooled back to calmness. "It's just that everywhere we look, we seem to find his influence."
"Especially here. Who know he would have such a big impact on the place he owned," Mike tested, teasing lightly.
"I'm being serious," Marionette flatly and tiredly stated.
"I am too. Think about it; anybody could walk in and get immediate evidence of what he's been doing," Mike tsked with a shake of the head. "What a genius; could build animatronics, but couldn't actually dispose of paperwork." He then checked, hoping that it had somewhat amused the Puppet. There wasn't much of a response, so he tried another tactic. "What do you know about Henry? Did you ever meet him?" Mike asked as he put his arm around Marionette and coaxed him closer. The animatronic didn't resist either coaxing.
"I've never met him, but… No… Yes, I have met him," Marionette retracted rather abruptly. "But it was long ago, when I was just a child. He and- he worked at Fredbear's. Of course, he owned both Fredbear's and Freddy's. He even built most of the others. Because he and Afton always fought, I kept a distance from him, being as meek as I was. I always expected that I'd do something wrong and he would snap at me." He seemed to grow more at ease as he talked and turned to press his mask into Mike's shoulder. Though he continued talking as he did so.
"It was a typical day at the restaurant, so I was under a table in the fetal position, hysterical." Mike's look of confusion wasn't lost on him. If anything, he only found it more amusing. "When he came over and coaxed me out. It was already such a rare event; usually people would just stare, but he came to me. He took me into the back, gave me a brownie- I think he said his wife made them- and was just so nice about the whole thing…. It was so surprising to me that someone actually cared."
"He sounded like a nice enough guy," Mike agreed. Though he wouldn't judge someone on one event alone, he wanted to stay positive for Marionette's sake.
"I want to say that I got my Golden Freddy doll from him, but I honestly can't remember if it was from him or my father," Marionette admitted as he started to pull back and looked expectantly towards the front of the elevator. "He was a father too. He had both a son and a daughter that were sometimes at work with him... Maybe that's why he was so concerned about me?" As the doors opened, he fell silent again.
"We've got a fifty-fifty chance of finding out that he built your body," the security guard pointed out as he stepped out of the elevator and glanced around. "So, keep ahold of that thought, okay?" He paused for a moment as he tried to remember where the directory was, but then looked back as he noticed the Puppet lingering in the elevator. "…Mari?"
Finally, Marionette exited the elevator and followed him. "Sorry. I was just lost in thought for moment."
"…You know that we don't have to do this," Mike reminded him. Marionette shook his head.
"I need to know," he insisted.
"I could go alone. It's riskier, but as long as you guard the elevator from Baby's leftovers. I'd prefer not to get jumped this time," he gave a reassuring smile, trying to show that he was confident in going alone. Which he was; he doubted that there would be animatronics running amuck in any sort of office space.
"But then you would lie if you found out that Afton was responsible, wouldn't you?" Marionette playfully accused. At least he was smiling a little bit again.
"Yeah, probably," Mike admitted without any form of denial. In fact, that was part of the reason he would be so keen on going on his own. "Is that a problem?"
"Only if I wasn't coming," the Puppet quipped as he passed by. "I still don't trust Baby, so even if she says the others are 'off somewhere' she could really be covering for them. I won't be intimidated by either."
"I could be intimidated by Baby," Mike admitted. "It's not every day that you run into a seven-foot clown." This managed to get a chime out of Marionette who then started in the direction of the breakers. Mike kept close, but not just for his own good. It wasn't himself who he was worried about.
Fifty-fifty weren't exactly good odds.
After checking the map that Marionette had drawn for him so long ago, Fritz concluded that the door in front of him wasn't supposed to exist. Yet here it was, awkwardly planted on the wall of the Ballora Gallery. It wasn't like a normal door, but instead extremely narrow and had a metal texture more like a vent than to the doors located in the vicinity. After a few moments of staring, considering his options, Fritz tried the door and found it willing to open. It was a little rusty, but gave little resistance.
Considering that he hadn't had any luck finding any of the Minireenas, it seemed possible that they were located behind this door. He opened the strange door and started to head down the thin corridor. The further he went inside, the more he began to believe that it was a maintenance hatch.
"Warning, you are entering an unauthorized area. Please return to your assigned station and begin your duties for the night," the Handunit forewarned as Fritz took a corner and continued through. It was then that he noticed another door like the one before and stepped through. Now he was standing in the last place he suspected; a hallway. Not a metal hallway or an office hallway, but one that looked remarkably like a home's hallway. There was carpet, soft colored wallpaper, and sending a beam of light down the hall revealed a chair posed at the end.
Sitting on the chair was a couple of dolls, though he didn't immediately pay attention to them. Instead, he sent his light into the four doors that lined the hallway. To his confusion, however, they didn't go anywhere. They were only the size of closets and didn't have anything inside. He took a few steps down the hallway.
"Observation room three is currently out of order. If you are not the technician on call, please turn back and return to the Ballora Gallery. If you are the technician assigned to repairs on observation room three, please enter the five-digit code provided to you." Fritz ignored the order and peered at the chair. There sat the two dolls. One looked almost like Spring Bonnie, but was a small, plush toy version. The second looked to be a Minireena, but neither of them were moving. Instead, they seemed to be holding onto each other.
"If the code isn't entered in the next thirty to forty seconds, security will be contacted. Please input the code or exit into the Ballora Gallery," the Handunit continued. Now Fritz was paying attention. He looked to the keypad, at the flickering letters, not numbers, and his mind scrambled.
"Damn it! Uh…" Fritz waited for each letter to appear and disappear, and systematically typed in one letter at a time until the five letters for 'Afton' had been spelled out. "Please work…" the technician murmured as the Handunit paused to load the password. Then it spoke again.
"Password accepted. Thank you for your hard work," the Handunit announced before falling silent. Fritz gave a relieved sigh and looked forwards again. Almost immediately, his relieved sigh turned to a choke of panic. As suddenly, without him even seeing it, the two dolls had climbed off the chair and vanished somewhere else. He backed down the hall immediately, shining his light over the doors in the hall and seeing nothing view. They were gone without a trace and he backed until his back bumped the wall.
He was tempted to leave, immediately, and not risk any run in with the dolls… But he knew that he needed to gather the Minireenas. With a shudder, he turned off the flashlight and waited, hoping to lure the Minireena out of the dark. After a few seconds, he could hear a soft scampering noise and turned the flashlight back on out of reflex. He caught a glimpse of yellow before it dipped into the closer of the left doors. It had almost worked, but it seemed to be luring out the Bonnie-looking toy, not the Minireena.
Regardless, he tried the method a second time. He shut off the flashlight and waited for the sound of scurrying on the floor. Then he flicked the light back on. The bonnie toy dropped where it had stood and now sat on the floor, faking deactivation. Fritz didn't buy it for a second, but he did creep a little closer and crouched down in front of it.
"What are you even supposed to be…?" the technician inquired as he reached forwards to nudge at the being with the end of the Handunit. It was in this moment that, suddenly, something sprung out of the closest door and leapt onto his body. He immediately recognized it as the Minireena, which was now trying to climb his chest. He dropped the Handunit and went to grab at the Minireena, trying to get his flashlight wielding hand between them. Suddenly, the small bonnie decided that it was done faking and sprung to life.
It rushed forwards and Fritz now used his free hand to hold it back on its chest. This lasted for only a moment before it somehow managed to turn its head downwards and bite down on his fingers. The technician choked out a cry and yanked his hand back. Then he made an immediate decision; it just wasn't worth it.
Shoving the Minireena off, he grabbed the Handunit and stood. While the small Bonnie was briefly distracted by the fallen doll, Fritz hurried through the door and slammed it behind him. it had been a total mistake. His fingers were bloodied, he failed to grab the one Minireena he did find, and he was now squeezing through the hall again with less of a clue about what was going on.
"It seems that you have left Observation Room Three without completing your repairs. Please return to Observation Room Three."
"I swear, one more word and I'm leaving you down here," Fritz threatened as he stepped through the next hatch door and back into the Ballora Gallery. He paused there, looking around at the empty room with his flashlight, before turning on the Handunit. "Let's see if you can do something useful…" he murmured as he started to tap on the screen, looking for a response of some kind. Eventually, the Handunit responded.
"I can answer any question about your job. Excluding any questions containing sensitive materials, unauthorized content, or details on coworkers," the Handunit recited. "Please state your question clearly."
"Where are the Minireenas?" Fritz inquired. Normally, he wouldn't assume that something like the Handunit would know this. However, it seemed to be registering what rooms they were entering, so he assumed that it could possibly locate nearby animatronics.
"Accessing animatronic 'Minireena A'. Minireena A has not been reported to need maintenance. If you would like to see the blueprint, say 'blueprint'. If you would like to see the rules and regulations for prize dispersal and odds, please say 'regulations'. If you would like to report an error with Minireena A, say 'error' and follow after the beep with a summary of the error."
"That's not…" Fritz reconsidered his answer and then attempted a different command. "Minireena A location."
"According to my data, it seems that there are no current rentals for Ballora and the Minireenas," the Handunit incorrectly answered. Fritz gave a frustrated huff that was interrupted by the banging on the door behind him. Somehow, the Bonnie and the Minireena had gotten through the other door and were now banging on this one. He grumbled at the revelation and pressed back against the door.
"Animatronic locations," Fritz commanded again.
"You are currently located in the Ballora Gallery. Ballora is not on her stage, so please take care not to disturb her, or risk potential injury," Handunit warned. Of course, Fritz could clearly see that Ballora wasn't on the stage. Shining his light on the stage revealed nothing but emptiness waiting there.
"Come on, Handunit, where are the Minireenas?" Fritz asked before adding in a new comment. "The Minireenas require maintenance."
"Excellent work for proactively reporting a damaged animatronic! Having a performer out of order loses the choices for potential customers. Minireena A, Minireena B, Minireena C, and Minireena D, will need to be taken to the parts and service room for tending to. Please collect Minireena A, Minireena B, Minireena C, and Minireena D and move them to the parts and service room. If Minireena is too damaged, discard into appropriate recycle bin and file a report for a replacement."
Fritz smacked the Handunit into his own head, prepared to completely give up at this point. "Please, just-."
"Minireena A is located in the Breaker Room. Minireena B is not located on this floor. Minireena C is located in the Breaker Room. Minireena D is located in Observation Room Three." With that, the Handunit somehow completed what was seeming more and more like an impossible task.
"Thank you!" Fritz nearly gasped out in exasperation as he headed towards the Breaker Room. Maybe he could actually get something done.
Seeing the empty stage made Jeremy suddenly feel very unsafe. Seeing the empty stage didn't seem to faze Foxy in the slightest.
Instead, the pirate began to circle around the room. "Pretty empty. Why have a stage if there be no tables? No chairs? There's no point! Auditorium- Tis just an oversized warehouse!" Foxy somewhat scolded as he headed towards a large opening in the floor. "Think this be where Matey Mike dropped through? I was expecting something deeper," Foxy pointed out as he crouched down by the hole. "That be a lot 'o scrap down there, though. Might've gotten a scrap or too… You okay, Lad? You've been as quiet as a fish!"
Jeremy hoped that Foxy couldn't see how pale he was as he fixed his glasses. "Yeah, just… Keeping an eye out for Funtime Foxy." He looked over towards a nearby door, wondering where it went, before looking around behind himself. "Hey, uh, this is going to be a weird question- so, you don't have to answer it- but does it- is it weird to be around another Foxy?"
Foxy seemed to raise an ear as though quirking it quizzically. Then he turned more towards the human. "Why would it? Does it feel 'weird' when you be hangin' with other landlubbers?" His tone was playful, so Jeremy decided to return it.
"It depends if you mean a room full of humans or a room full of literal 'Jeremys'. I could see one of those losing its charm once we forget who is who," Jeremy answered and could hear a light chuckling noise from the animatronic.
"It would give me a crew," Foxy offered, but his tone then changed, "but be honest with me, why're you so scared of Funtime? It don't look like any sorta threat. It doesn't even have a hook." Foxy stood and Jeremy awkwardly rubbed at his shoulder. Ironically, he instinctually rubbed his scarred shoulder.
"You know, Foxy… The Mangle- It- She bit me," Jeremy awkwardly clarified as he started to look back.
"Ya don't need to do that, Lad. I'm keeping an ear out," Foxy clarified. This immediately relieved the young man, who had been under the impression that the captain was over-confidently not paying attention. "He was a twitchy one."
"I thought you were the twitchy one," Jeremy pointed out. He then realized that Foxy could take this the wrong way. "…Sorry, I meant-."
"Ah, me? I was a lamb compared to Toy Foxy! Err, Toy Foxy after… You know…" His eyes shifted around as though it was some sort of secret. He leaned in with a low tone, "Til this day, we still don't know what he saw that made him a target."
"Why would he be a target?" Jeremy questioned in confusion. "They- Wait, the facial recognition maybe?"
"Aye, that'd be my guess. She was walkin' the plank when she saw what she did," Foxy explained as he shook his head with sympathy. Then he looked at the security guard with more interest. "…You were bit…" Jeremy nodded in agreement and suddenly Foxy seemed a lot more interested. "Lemme see yer wound, Lad."
"Uh, I don't know about that. I'd have to take my shirt off and just- Aren't we looking for the Minireenas?" Suddenly his long-sleeved shirt didn't feel like enough. Foxy's gaze was curiously searching over his body. Then it focused on his face, on his head, and then switched course to continue looking.
"I'm supposed to be yer captain. A good captain knows everything 'bout their first mate," Foxy excused as though it was nothing. "Come on, let 'ol Foxy see it. It can't be that bad," he coaxed further. He wouldn't let it drop; Jeremy already knew that he wouldn't.
"Well… Okay… But don't say I-I didn't warn you," Jeremy spoke as he handed over the flashlight to the animatronic. "Just… Keep an eye out?" Foxy tapped his patch with his hook while Jeremy turned away. The moment he started to fiddle with the bottom of his shirt, stalling a little, he began to regret his willingness. It wasn't taking the shirt off that was weird; they were both male and Foxy was previously a human, so it wasn't like there should've been awkwardness. However, just the thought of showing off his scars was making him uncomfortable.
"You're sure? We- We should be looking around. We're wasting time," Jeremy pointed out. Foxy raised his ear again, noticing that Jeremy was beginning to stall. "Okay, I just- Don't make a big deal out of it, okay? It's not- Everyone always freaks out when they see it." He slid his shirt upwards and in front of him. As the worse of the scarring was on his back, there was no reason to change his position or face Foxy further. He could already see most of the ridges along his shoulder and back, where Mangle had dug its teeth in.
Jeremy wasn't sure when he started to really shake, but noticed it around the time that metal started to trace over his shoulder and back. For a split second, he thought it was a tooth. Reality slipped in, however, and denoted that it was clearly just the tip of Foxy's hook. He expected a pirate themed quote or some sort of comment about how bad it looked, or even how impressive the scars were. He didn't expect the silence.
After a few minutes, it occurred to Jeremy that Foxy wasn't going to say anything at all, and that he wasn't going to get a signal that he could put his shirt back on. So, he took the liberty of going ahead and slipping it back on. "That's it…" Jeremy remarked uncomfortably as he put his shirt back on. Foxy drew back his hook and watched. "It's, uh… Nothing spectacular."
"It ain't grotesque, if that's what you're thinking," Foxy suddenly forewarned. It was like he only then found his voice. "…Does it still give you trouble?"
"N-No, not really. It's just, uh… A little hard to look at. It took me months to get my shoulder to work like it was supposed to," Jeremy admitted as he turned to face Foxy once again. He thought that it would feel better to have the scars covered once again, but the moment he turned to Foxy he felt scrutinized underneath his gaze. Even though they were covered, Foxy had seen them. An animatronic, like the one that bit him, had seen the wounds and would never forget them. "Umm… You're staring."
"I'm always staring," Foxy pointed out. His voice sounded different again.
"Yeah, but not like-… You don't stare at me during service, do you?" Jeremy asked meekly. "Is that why the kids always get weird when I bring the cakes out?"
"No, it's because ya get all sweaty and the birthday kid starts crying or screamin'," Foxy clarified with another chuckle, hooking his hook onto Jeremy's unscarred shoulder. "You should be proud, Lad! You lived through the Mangle; not many a security guard be able to brag 'bout that!" Finally, Foxy seemed to return to how Jeremy expected, and the relief was immediate. The human even managed an honest smile. "Now come on. Let's go find yer dolls, eh?" He started to steer Jeremy along towards a nearby doorway, unwilling to remove his hook and only moving to adjust it.
"Actually…" Foxy abruptly stopped again, stopping Jeremy with his hook on his shoulder. He quickly scanned the room, looking between the doors, and then setting his gaze on the one beside the stage. "Let's go here… I've got somethin' I want you to see." Jeremy was confused by the change of tone, but went along with the captain's commands.
They entered through the door and into an office. Jeremy recognized its description from Mike's retelling of what happened in Afton's before. He knew this was the office that he had holed in to fight off 'the Ennard' or 'the spaghetti', or whatever else that Mike wanted to add to the title. Drops of brown dotted the ground and were obviously blood, Mike's blood, which only made Jeremy more uneasy. He anxiously wobbled back and forth from foot to foot, watching as Foxy peered out into the hallway.
After a few moments, he stepped out into the hall and started off somewhere. Jeremy was about to follow when a strange thumping noise caught his attention. He looked to the vent above the monitors, dreading whatever was moving inside. He could only imagine Toy Bonnie's face poking through the vent. Though whatever was in the vent was moving slow and making much less noise. He dared to step closer and shine his light at the vent. Whatever was inside came to an immediate stop once the light was shining in. Though now Jeremy was reluctant to move the flashlight away.
It was the squeaking of Foxy's legs that signaled the animatronics return. "What are you doin', Lad?" Foxy sounded a little disappointed, but Jeremy assumed it wasn't towards him. Whatever Foxy was looking for was simply harder to find than he anticipated.
"Something's up there," Jeremy whispered back. He still was nervous, but having Foxy back in the room made him feel at least slightly more confident. That was, until Foxy gave a shrug and strode over to him.
"Foxy- Whoa!" That was all he could blurt out as Foxy bent down, grabbed his legs, and started to easily lift him. "Whoa, whoa! Foxy, I'm not- Stop!" Jeremy commanded as he tried to wriggle free. Slowly he was raised to the vent and the human struggled back, awkwardly leaning over the monitors. "Foxy, no, I'm not-!" He cut off as he faced the vent and reflexively sent the light down the shaft. To his surprise, there was an animatronic in the vent, but it was much smaller and innocent looking than expected.
It almost looked like a baby doll, with big blue eyes and small body. He somewhat recalled seeing an animatronic like this before, but put that aside to address the doll. Perhaps it was like with the Minireenas; maybe this little animatronic could be tempted into being friendly.
"H-Hey there, little guy, or girl…" Jeremy began timidly as he leaned in closer. "Do you, uh… Do you want to come with me?" The doll began to crawl closer, slowly, and he started to regret the decision. It moved in closer before suddenly springing forward. Its faceplates burst open as it landed a few inches short of Jeremy. Unfortunately for the small and aggressive animatronic, Jeremy slammed his hand on the button beside the vent, and shut the animatronic off from its prey.
"…Okay, let me down now," Jeremy squeaked out to Foxy as he felt less safe than ever. "Just- Let's just go to Ballora's Gallery and find Fritz, please?"
"Aye, fine," Foxy agreed with the continued exasperation as he nearly dropped the human to the ground. Jeremy stumbled and partially fell into the desk. "We need Mari for directions anyhoo. Let's shove off; that vent won't hold that squealing, little Blige rat forever," the captain pointed out as he turned and headed through the door into the Funtime Auditorium. Jeremy kept at his heels.
He was planning to ask about what Foxy was looking for, but his question changed when something occurred to him. There were supposed to be multiple animatronics down on this floor, yet they had only seen one. That didn't entirely make sense to Jeremy and, if anything, made him very uncomfortable. The questioning was dropped altogether when he noticed movement through the window of the Primary Control Module. He quickened his pace, passing Foxy, and quickly slipped through the vent.
As exasperated as Foxy was acting earlier, it was nothing to how Fritz looked. He was sitting on the floor with the Handunit sitting beside him, wrapped in his jacket and set at arm's length. To Jeremy's surprise, there were also two, small, squirming dolls laying on the floor as well. It took Jeremy a minute to realize that they had been tethered together with a belt.
"How did you catch them?" Jeremy asked in surprise as he knelt beside him. They both looked to him and one began to make a hissing noise. It was obvious that they were nowhere near as friendly as Daisy was. That didn't deter the human in the slightest.
"I cornered them in the breaker room," Fritz explained tiredly as he rested his head back on the wall. "There was a third one running around with some sort of Bonnie doll, but it's a lost cause."
"Okay…" Jeremy slowly agreed as he listened for Foxy climbing through the vent. "No Ballora?"
"No. No Funtime Foxy?"
"No… No animatronics at all, except for a small, baby one. I forget what they're called," Jeremy trailed off and looked back to Foxy, who was climbing through the vent. "Hey, Captain! Come take a look at this." He had a feeling that this would be the kind of thing that would amuse Foxy. However, Foxy still seemed a little distracted.
"That's a sight ya don't see ev'ry day," Foxy remarked as he looked down at the tethered Minireenas. Then he looked to Fritz, "Is Mari still back with her?"
Fritz furrowed his brow and glanced at the elevator doors. "I heard the elevator earlier. I think they might've headed upstairs…" This caught both Foxy and Jeremy's attention. "Which either means that they left us or Scott's out in the parking lot talking down the cops."
"I'll go find out," Foxy volunteered as he headed over to the elevator. Fritz immediately rushed to his feet and thrust forwards the Handunit.
"Take this thing with you. It might help you," Fritz volunteered. Foxy stared at him for a few moments before narrowing his gaze in suspicion. "… Can you just take it for a couple of minutes?" Fritz clarified. Any answer was interrupted by the Handunit suddenly activating.
"I notice that you haven't completed the maintenance on Minireena A, Minireena B, Minireena C, Minireena D, or Observation Room Three. Please return to your assigned tasks, as we don't have all night. A quicker worker gets closer to a promotion. Note: Promotions are only available to staff of three years or more."
"Please," Fritz was nearly begging. "I'm about ready to lose it." Foxy grumbled and snatched the Handunit before calling the elevator with his hook. While Fritz went to sit back down and wait, Jeremy stood and followed Foxy.
"They could still be in the building," he pointed out. Before he could continue with any sort of point, Foxy interrupted him.
"Aye, they still be here, and Foxy'll find 'em," Foxy assured as he listened to the lowering elevator and counted the floors it was passing. "Stay here with Fritz and wait for me. We ain't finished here yet." Jeremy wasn't sure what Foxy meant by that, but nodded in agreement and waited for the elevator to arrive beside him.
What was Foxy so determined to find down here? Jeremy wondered if he even wanted to know.
Jeremy had no doubt that he would soon find out.
Mable: I'll keep this brief so that I can post quickly. The next chapter shall be posted next Saturday, on schedule. I hope that everyone enjoyed and that you have a Happy Easter tomorrow!