Mable: Here we are with the next chapter! Not much to say up here, so I'm just going to get into it. ^-^ I hope you Enjoy!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Seventy-Six
Marionette couldn't remember the last time he had been so anxious before a performance. Perhaps it was at the carnival, but even this felt more intense. He was nearly trembling in excitement and nervousness, tucked inside his box and waiting for the van to arrive at the house. The van slowed down to a stop and he knew that they had arrived. For a moment, part of Marionette had to remind himself that he could teleport away at any time. Yet that didn't exactly make him feel any more confident.
He heard someone climb into the back of the van and knew that it was probably Mike. He was already in his puppeteer garb, a safety precaution in case something required Mike rushing in to fix it. He could hear and lightly feel Mike rest his hand on the top of the box, protective and assuring. It didn't really help Marionette's nerves, but it did comfort him somewhat. At least he knew that he wouldn't be alone. Mike and Fritz worked to slide the box out of the back and onto the roller.
Marionette stayed tightly pulled into himself inside the box, trying to calm himself down, as though this was his first performance when it wasn't. He let himself be moved without doing a thing. On the outside, Mike scanned the area as he wheeled Marionette into the backyard. However, he immediately found himself struck by what was clearly more than fifteen children. There could've been thirty; it was packed with kids climbing on outdoor play equipment, running around, and being generally loud.
It was a shame that Kathleen saw him, or Mike would've considered walking right out. She hurried right over, looking as fluttery and anxious as any mother who had to watch twenty-something children. Fritz stood beside Mike to and paused to stare across the backyard.
"It's like a warzone out here," Fritz murmured to his fellow security guard. Mike made a scoffing noise in amusement.
"You think it's bad now, wait until Mari comes out. It'll be like poking an anthill." Though as much as Mike wanted this to be a joke, he did dread the incoming swarm.
"I hope they're not the kind that bite," Fritz murmured, nudging Mike lightly and trying to cover how unnerved he felt. Kathleen interrupted any further jabs at the overpacked birthday party.
"You got here just in time! I was just about to skip the gifts and bring the cake out. Maybe you could set him up… Somewhere?" The woman made a vague gesture to the stone patio area, beside which was a table topped with unopened two liters of soda, paper cups, paper plates, and other necessities for serving cake and refreshments. The other side of the table was packed with gifts. "If he could come out soon, we could get through the presents while I get the cake ready."
"Yeah, that's what these kids need, more sugar." Mike began to wheel the box over to the stone platform. "I wonder if there's a 'keep food away from the animatronics' sign in the van." The wheels of the roller struck the edge of the stone and Mike had to suppress any sort of complaint. With a slow exhale, he backed the roller again and pushed it further. As expected, this did nothing. He then started to tilt the box back and found that the roller refused to come with. "Well, this sums up my life."
"Are you sure you don't need anymore help?" Fritz offered to Kathleen before she could step back inside and leave them at the mercy of the children. What with the only other supervising adult being an older woman sitting in a lawn chair looking half asleep. "Well, if you're sure. That's what we're here for!... Uh…" Only at this moment did Fritz notice Mike's struggle and rush over. "Sorry! Sorry, I thought maybe she wanted one of us to bring the cake out."
"I can't risk the kids' mouths getting that close to my hands. I've got a puppet to puppeteer here," Mike quipped.
"I just meant me. I'm sure you're going to keep your hands plenty busy," Fritz affirmed as he lifted the edge of the roller onto the stone. As he leaned back upwards he had a disturbed look on his face. "I'm sorry, that was actually really creepy at a kid's birthday party. That did not come out right."
"Your best material yet, Sam," Mike congratulated flatly as they finally got the box onto the patio and rolled it over beside the table, right alongside the gifts. He glanced over the backyard and managed to spot Chrissy standing off by the fence. "Eyes on birthday girl," Mike murmured as he started to set up the pole and puppet cross over the box. Anything to look less suspicious. "Try to keep any of that cake from getting over here?"
"I'll do what I can," Fritz assured. He then looked over and watched as Kathleen came back out, now carrying the cake.
"Cause I'm the one who's going to have to wipe down Mari after all this is said and done," Mike spoke after Fritz, though went ignored as the male continued off towards the woman. She set the birthday cake down on the table, not yet lighting the candles and simply getting it ready. Out of reflex, Fritz stood in front of it, trying to shield it from any children who would try to get into it early. "It's showtime," Mike murmured as he tapped on the top of the box in curt rhythm. "You're on."
Almost right on cue, 'Pop Goes the Weasel' began to come from the box. Though instead of loud and frantic, signaling a coming attack, it was much more controlled and deliberate. It wasn't a reaction to raw emotion or a sign of coming danger. It was nice to hear it without having to worry about an attacking threat. Seeing that the song was starting to run its course, Mike decided to call the children over.
"Alright, kids! You all ready to get this party started?" Mike called out. A script would've been much appreciated, but he knew once the animatronic was out, he would fade into the background. The children didn't need much encouraging. They were craving some form of entertainment so badly that they nearly sprinted over, probably expecting a clown or something equally terrifying.
The music continued to drum down and Mike felt a smile of amusement start to form. Then, in the last moment- "The monkey thought it was all in good fun…" -the box top popped open with a colorful explosion of confetti. In a sudden rush, the nervousness was all gone, and Marionette was looking down upon a crowd of watching children.
Most look excited at the sight of the Puppet, though one or two also looked equally started. One of the girls in the back actually gave a short shriek, but then pulled herself together after seeing that the other children were fine. Apparently peer pressure came in handy for some situations, though Marionette doubted it would've worked as well if they were a few years younger. He chimed eagerly in his chest as his voice rung forth.
"Come on boys and come on girls, the party's just begun!~" Marionette began to sing. "So, let's skip past greetings and just get straight to the fun!~ Still in the rhythm of 'Pop Goes the Weasel', he began to search the group for the birthday girl. "We're gathered here for a special girl, and here for her special day,~" he trilled as he finally found her standing off to the side by the fence. He was somewhat taken aback.
Chrissy looked positively despondent. If it wasn't for the specially labelled party hat, it would be hard to believe that it was her birthday.
But that was okay, Marionette was certain as he continued to smile with honesty, because he was here to make it better. "And It only comes once a year, so it's time to celebrate!~" He spun in his box in delight as Mike braced the side of the box, making sure it didn't roll off the stone. He was glad Mike was there, it took his attention away from the unfamiliar adult eyes staring at him from the table.
"Let the games begin and the fun start,~" Marionette encouraged, reaching out towards Chrissy. She started to inch closer, but sent a wary look towards the group of children congregating around his box. He looked down toward them and felt a tremble of happiness rattle his internal music box. So many happy children; no wonder Foxy loved the attention so much. "Raise your voice and sing from the heart!~"
Mike did a once over look at the party. All the children except two were crowded around the box. One of the children, a chubbier boy, was still sitting back on the swing set and seemed reluctant to get off it. Maybe he had to fight for the seat, Mike supposed. The second child was young, almost a toddler, and was wandering much to close to the refreshment table. Mike tried to wave down Fritz, who was no longer blocking the cake and now standing on the other side of Kathleen, but he didn't seem to notice his subtle gestures.
"It's your party, you can cry if you want to! And that'll be okay.~" It was hard not to get fully lost in his own music. The lightheaded buzz was starting to give Marionette more reason to fully lose himself to the performance. "It's your party, you can cry if you want to, but there won't be any crying today!~" He spun again, watching as Chrissy moved in closer, but then watched her shirk back as another girl moved directly in front of her, not noticing the birthday girl trying to get closer. The children were a little distracted; that was understandable.
"It's your party, you can cry if you want to! Because the gang's all here,~" Marionette continued as he leaned in closer. "It's your party-!~"
And then the song was cut off by a strange splatting noise coming from the table, along with a few thumps and strange shuffles. All the children's heads snapped over and Marionette fell abruptly silent. He turned his head just a bit and glanced out of the corner of his eye. Apparently, an unwatched child, clearly younger than the others, possibly Chrissy's younger sibling, had yanked at the table cloth and sent the birthday cake off the table. From how Chrissy's mother was halfway over the table, it was obvious that she dove to stop it and couldn't.
"Yeah, I saw that coming," Mike muttered from behind him. He sounded just as unsurprised as ever and Marionette couldn't help but inwardly cringe at the display. So much for making the party better.
Fritz started damage control immediately. "Let me make a call. I'll have a new cake here in fifteen minutes tops," he assured Kathleen quietly. She agreed without any convincing and he headed back towards the van to make the call. At least the cake was destroyed before it was time to serve it. Kathleen circled the table to whisk away the toddler and the cake was left toppled over for the moment.
Marionette turned back to the children and instantly noticed that Chrissy wasn't where she had been. He looked over the crowd, but couldn't positively say if she was there or not. Either way, he was worried about her reaction, and his inability to pinpoint her down was just enough to concern him. Though he continued singing and performing, slipping from the new birthday song into one of Foxy's non-pirate ones, and then falling onto an old Freddy's one.
Then the party- at least in his mind- came to a screeching halt.
Kathleen called for Chrissy to begin opening the gifts and received no answer back. While this wasn't enough to get anyone into a panic, Marionette gaze suddenly reverted to tunnel vision. He was performing at a birthday party and there was a missing child. It happened so suddenly, but now Chrissy was missing, and he shuddered at the growing sense of Deja-vu. Kathleen wasn't concerned; though then again, the parents never were when the children would first disappear. The Puppet listened in on her exact words.
"She probably just went inside. Let me go get her," Kathleen dismissed. "Could you keep an eye on everything? Make sure nobody tries to eat any of the cake." Of course, she meant the cake currently laying on the pavement.
"Yeah, sure. Watching kids is practically what I get paid for," Mike affirmed. After she headed inside, he decided to take the liberty of drawing the show to a close. Mostly because he was noticing that Marionette's voice was beginning to skip and took it as a sign of fatigue. "Okay, kids! Mari's going to need a five-minute break to rest his voice." Then, after noticing one of the closer kids eyeing the cake on the ground, he added in, "And nobody eat anything off the ground. I'm watching you." Because that weak threat would work with children.
Mike then reached out for Marionette's back, intending to guide him into the box in a realistic manner. Instead, he was met with one of those emotional 'throbs' as soon as he touched his fabric. It was filled with panic; Marionette was beginning to panic.
"It's all going fine," Mike murmured as Marionette lowered into the box. "You're doing great. The party's going fine." It was only in the moment that he started to shut the box, watching as Marionette continued to twitch in a restlessness that he was unable to express, that he got a hunch of what was going on. "I'll find Chrissy. She couldn't have gone far." This seemed to ease the Puppet just a slight bit as Mike shut the box.
So, Mike was left with the task of making sure that Chrissy wasn't out here. Once certain that none of the kids would come wandering to the box the second he stepped away from it, Mike looked around and affixed his gaze on the chubby child who had been separate from the group. He would've had the perfect vantage point from where he was sitting. The security guard strode across the backyard, dodging children on the way. He fought the urge to touch his face; the new greasepaint was starting to irritate his skin, but he couldn't risk smudging it.
Then again, from the fearful look the child gave as he approached, it was very possible that Mike would've done better just wiping the paint off his face. "Hey there, Kid," the man greeted, feeling marginally uncomfortable. He felt like some sort of creeper already. "Have you seen Chrissy?" The boy shyly turned down his head. "We can't open gifts or serve the cake without her. Did you see where she went?"
"Went around that way," the boy mumbled as he pointed to the corner of the house beside the fence where she had been standing. She could've easily snuck to the front door and headed inside, so Mike was considerably less worried about the situation. Instead, his concern briefly turned to curiosity.
"What are you doing hiding over here?" The boy gave a noncommittal shrug. A gesture that was becoming more appropriate to describe this party every passing minute. "You want to come see Mari?" Maybe it would help Marionette calm down if he had a single child to entertain. He always did better one on one anyway.
The boy gave a strange sort of disagreeing noise and sent an almost fearful look at the box. "Mari's kind of scary…"
"He's less scary up close," Mike convinced. "You can keep an eye on him while I help Chrissy's Mom look for Chrissy. You can make sure nobody gets cake on him."
"Okay. If he doesn't jump out," the boy agreed. Then he made absolutely no attempt to move. After a few seconds, Mike exhaled tiredly and scooped his hands under the boy's shoulders, toting him back towards the box. Surprisingly, dragging the limp child wasn't too difficult, though Mike was starting to suspect that the boy was actively trying to be difficult. He stopped him in front of the box and tapped on it a few times in warning, then started to open the flaps.
The box was empty.
And Mike was stuck staring into an empty box with absolutely nothing to say. He absentmindedly tapped on the lid of the box, considered the fact that the boy was still standing behind him, and contemplated how to deal with a missing child, a missing puppet, a destroyed cake, thirty rambunctious children, and one child who he now had to properly distract.
"…Before meeting Mister Mari, how'd you like to help Mister Mike move a tarp?"
Invisibility just didn't work in bright sunlight. Though, to be fair, invisibility barely worked regardless of the lighting conditions, but the bright light made him only more obvious. As such, Marionette was falling back on a mixture of short distance teleportation and hiding. Under normal circumstances, this would exhaust him, but he was numb to it out of pure perseverance. After passing through some of the nearby backyards, Marionette set his focus on a nearby park. He doubted she would make it to the Pizzeria and none of these other houses seemed specifically interesting.
He wished he could say the town was safe, that Chrissy would be okay on her own in broad daylight, but he knew that wasn't the case. Too many children had went missing as it was.
The park was a focus point because it was only one street over, well within walking distance for a little girl on a mission. It was also the only spot within walking distance, other than houses, where a child would go. It was a flat of suburbs; there wasn't much else to look at. It wasn't like she would head to a friend's house either, as more than likely her friends would be at the party, and there were plenty of kids at the party. He made it to the final fence between the park and a random house without much of a hitch, passing humans at a distance.
Peering through the cracks of the fence, Marionette spotted her immediately and was overwhelmed with sudden relief. The birthday girl was sitting underneath one of the jungle gyms, looking just as miserable as earlier. While he wanted to rush in immediately, he couldn't help but notice the empty grass around the playground, along with the much too close road. He would be easily seen if he wasn't careful, but he had to take the risk.
Marionette teleported underneath the jungle gym, right behind her, not wanting to risk teleporting in front and startling her too much. She was already sure to be surprised by his sudden appearance. He knelt on the dirt, keeping his voice low as he reached for her shoulder. "Chrissy?"
Chrissy jumped a little and looked back in shock. Though her shock immediately turned to what almost looked like relief, as though she had wanted him to come after her, or wanted someone to come after her. Her face was still filled with a solemnness that Marionette didn't like seeing. "Chrissy, what's the matter? You looked so sad at your party," Marionette quietly coaxed. He reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder. "You still look sad now." The young girl only frowned more at the comment.
"I don't even want a birthday party. I don't like parties," Chrissy defiantly denounced. She rested her chin on her knees and stared down at her shoes. This, of course, counteracted everything he knew about her, so he assumed that she was being a bit overdramatic in her upset. "I wanted to have my birthday at your home."
"Is that what this is about?" Marionette hoped that was it. "Chrissy, we could have more than one party! If you want to come in tomorrow, we could have a birthday party with Foxy." Chrissy still was sulking; this obviously wasn't what was going on. "…Is there something else you don't like?"
"…Nobody likes me," Chrissy murmured. "They're just here for the party. They just want cake and stuff."
"Now who wouldn't like you?" Marionette reassured. He slid his hand to her other shoulder, comfortingly resting his arm around her. "Maybe they're just a little distracted. People get distracted at parties."
"But I didn't even want them!" Chrissy blurted out. "I just want to be alone…" They hesitated there for a moment. "…But I want you to stay." Which was good, because Marionette had no intention of leaving her.
They returned to silence. It was clear that whatever was truly bothering Chrissy, she just couldn't get it out. Whatever it was, she simply couldn't voice it, and that meant that he couldn't help fix it. Especially not when her face scrunched up. In an instant, she went from sitting there to suddenly crying. Soft tears ran down her cheeks as she openly choked and hiccupped. Here was the birthday girl crying on her birthday. No child deserved to cry on their birthday.
"Your brother's kind of a baby, isn't he?"
Without any need for an invitation, Marionette scooped Chrissy into his arms and hugged her tightly to him. However, he didn't let his own tears fall. "Don't you dare cry. You're here to comfort her. If you start crying, it'll only make her feel worse." So, he managed to pull himself together enough to simply rock the girl in his arms. She wept against his front and let out her frustration on the world; frustration that he didn't know the source of and could only help through these basic means. He stroked her hair, he patted her back, and he began to chime a slow, soothing tune.
She started to calm almost immediately, but clung to Marionette's tight enough that his button was nearly embedded in her cheek. He wondered if she was purposely doing so to listen to the mechanical chimes ringing from in his chest.
"Be brave, my little one. It's going to get better," the Puppet encouraged gently. "When the night seems long and cold, and you cannot find your way. Don't let go, stay with me. Tomorrow is another day.~" He hugged her tighter, letting his guard down further. "And when the light is all gone, and your hope begins to fade. Keep ahold and don't let go. Tomorrow is another day.~" He then returned to humming, listening and watching as her crying fully dissipated. "How I hope you'll always stay…~"
Chrissy was finally starting to look like she was recovering. "Everyone's waiting for you back at the party," Marionette reminded. He gently took her face in his hands and gave her a sure smile. "And you have plenty of gifts and a brand-new cake waiting for you as well…" He coaxed her further, waiting to hear what she wanted to do.
"Do we have to?" Chrissy asked reluctantly. "Can't we stay here and play together?"
"I would love to play with you, Chrissy, but your mother's going to get worried." He raised a hand, "but I promise I'll stay right by your side. You're the birthday girl, after all!" She looked more willing as she wiped away the last of her tears on her pink, striped sleeves.
"Would you like to know a secret?" Marionette whispered. "You can't tell anyone else. It'll be our secret." She raised her head in interest and he gave a happy trill. "I've met many children and I've made many friends... But you're my favorite."
"Really?" Chrissy asked. She didn't sound doubtful, but seemed to need the reassurance.
Marionette hummed in agreement. "Really! You have been so-."
A sudden sensation of discomfort cut him off. He felt a shudder down his spine and looked over to the road. There was a car- perhaps familiar- driving by, slowing down, and he could feel eyes on him. With a squeak like slipping metal, Marionette dropped himself down, forcing himself to shield himself behind Chrissy as his body began to stiffen. There was a growing static of panic at the thought of whomever was in that car truly spotting him. They had looked at him, he had felt it, and now he was stuck.
"Mari?" Chrissy asked in concern. She looked down at him and shook at his shoulders. "Are you okay?" Naturally, Marionette couldn't respond. "Did you… Fall down?" She then looked around and noticed the slowly driving car. "You're hiding from the car!" she proclaimed as though she suddenly discovered the answers of the universe. He could feel as she tried to lay over him. "It's okay, Mari. I don't think they can see you." But Marionette knew that they had. Even if it was just for a second, they had seen him, and he just hoped that they would move on. "…They're gone."
The Puppet cautiously raised back off the ground and sent a glance to the road. The car had driven off; perhaps he was in the clear.
"Let's go back," Chrissy willingly volunteered as he took his arm. It was as though the incident reminded her that Marionette was to be kept a secret.
"You go ahead. I'm going to follow you, but I'm going to stay hidden so that nobody sees me," he explained. Then he started to return to his previous happier tone, "and we'll keep this a secret between us?" This was the first time since he found her that he had gotten a real smile.
What a shame that he had to take her home so soon, but they couldn't be caught in public and she had a party waiting for her. He sent her off to the sidewalk and then teleported to the other side of the fence. As Chrissy continued her trek home, Marionette retraced his previous path, making sure to keep his gaze on the girl the entire time.
Chrissy made it back home in time to see Tabby unloading the new cake out of the backseat of her car. The girl briefly paused to get a peek of the cake before continuing behind the house. Tabby followed suit, not even noticing the girl walking into the party ahead of her. Though she did notice Kathleen hugging Chrissy when coming around the corner, but was a little too distracted to dwell on it. Instead, she set the cake down on the table beside where Fritz was standing.
"Is the marionette in the box?" Tabby asked in an almost casual way. Though no question like this could be taken in a casual way. Fritz and Mike, the former sitting in another lawn chair and the latter just standing beside the box. "Cause I think I saw it hanging out in the park a couple of streets over," Tabby pointed out, relatively unfazed by it all.
Mike would've taken this as all a joke, but the fact that Tabby actually went through with asking the question made him nervous. Especially since he knew that there was a possibility that she had seen Marionette. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Fritz giving him this intense stare of questioning. He had decided not to tell Fritz that Marionette had slipped away and now he was on the spot.
"…Course he is. He doesn't have a track to run on," Mike denied. "Unless he crawled over there, I'm pretty sure he's still stuck in his box."
"Looks like Chrissy got back and now that the cake's here… Maybe we should hurry up and unwrap the gifts before someone goes for the cake again," Fritz suggested. He hesitated, watching Mike's reaction, and added, "You should probably get Mari back out."
Mike stared back at Fritz with an empty look, which contrasted only too well with the face paint. Without a word, he turned around and faced the box, briefly looking down at the boy sitting in front of it. Thankfully, the boy's give or take feeling towards Marionette had persisted, so he hadn't really cared when Mike didn't go through with bringing the Puppet out.
"You might want to move over. He might pop," Mike forewarned. In response, the boy scrambled to his feet and moved a few steps behind him. Mike would've been amused if he wasn't fully dreading the results of opening the box. With a sharp exhale, he started to lift the flaps of the box.
There was Marionette, knelt inside, looking upwards attentively.
"There, see?" Mike began, disguising an exhale of relief. "Right where I left him…" He forced a smirk as he opened the box the rest of the way in preparation of opening the gifts. "Thank you, God."
"It's time to open the gifts!" Kathleen called out in forewarning as she approached the table, guiding Chrissy along with her. Chrissy's eyes immediately went on Marionette, who rose back out of the box. Ignoring the other children coming over, she looked up to her mother.
"Can I sit by Mari?" Chrissy asked almost meekly. Her mother smiled encouragingly, answered positively, and pulled over a chair to rest beside the box. As nervous as Chrissy seemed, she eagerly sat beside the box, keeping her focus largely between him and the gifts stacked to her right. The other children chattered as they gathered around, curious to see what she had gotten and eager to move on to the cake.
"You know, it's really weird," Tabby admitted to Fritz, still sitting down. "I could've sworn I saw it out of the corner of my eye. It was broad daylight; it wasn't like I hallucinated a shadow." The woman's apathy started to wane and instead revealed honest confusion as she looked towards the box. "But I was wrong, I just- I don't get it sometimes. Your mind does the weirdest things." She began to slowly pass it off as nothing, becoming more and more convinced that she had been wrong.
Meanwhile, Fritz was becoming more concerned about Tabby's line of questioning. He gnawed at the dry skin of his lip and considered his options. At a party in the middle of the day, surrounded by clients and after calling her out to deliver a cake, Fritz wasn't too sure that he could even consider the idea of telling Tabby the truth. Instead, he had to continue with damage control. "I've done that a couple of times. Probably just working too long of hours. I think we need a vacation or something. Maybe we'll shut everything down and take a week off."
"I could use that," Tabby agreed, "but then I'd have to spend quality time with my family." She sent a weary look at Fritz and in a grizzled voice muttered, "Let's stay open."
Mike was less than concerned with the situation. As far as he could see, everything was under control. Marionette was leaning on the edge of the box, watching Chrissy open her gifts, fritz and Tabby were talking passively, the children were safe and accounted for; the party was going fine. The only thing slightly out of place was the boy lingering alongside him. Though he didn't mind it too much. Quiet as he was, he was a good enough kid… In fact-.
"Hey," Mike began. He reached into his back pocket and pulled his wallet. "Thanks for the help, Kid. You earned this." He didn't know why he was feeling so generous unless hit was just the good mood he was in. Either way, he handed over a dollar to the boy. "Come by Foxy's sometime. I can't pay you, but you can watch ten times more cake get dropped." He then ruffled the kid's blond hair. Yes, life was good.
As for Marionette, he waited until Chrissy had a moment and then chimed in alert, announcing himself. Then he reached down into his box and lifted out a white gift box wrapped in a ruby bow. It felt so good to give gifts again, especially to his dear little girl. He watched as her face lit up and she tugged at the bow, trying to tear through the white wrapping paper to the homemade goodies inside. His fear of missing child and his blips of cold memories were gone as he watched her excitedly open her gift.
This was why Marionette loved birthday parties. Even if he couldn't fix the past, he could get lost in the present.
"I know you're scared of Fredbear and his friends…" The man looked over at the chair with the small boy sitting inside. He was just as disheveled as ever, but at least he wasn't crying any longer. Deciding to venture closer, the man stood, circled the desk, and knelt beside the boy's seat. The boy's cheeks were still pink and wet from tears. "So, I was thinking… Maybe you could help me design one of Fredbear's new friends?" The boy looked to him, meek and hesitant. "It'll be fun!" the man insisted. The boy was still uncertain and yet gave a timid nod.
Henry couldn't help but smile. "Great, great! Let's get started…" He held the pen prone over the notepad as he looked back to the boy. "I see you like stripes. What do you think about stripes?"
Mable: So, question. What is scarier; a mime-looking puppet flinging itself out of a box or a grown man dressed like said puppet, toting around a suspicious looking tarp? I'd say it's a pretty close call. XD At least everything is going good- which is a change of pace. Looks like things are finally looking up!
Anyway, the next chapter will be posted as soon as I finish it. I hope you enjoyed!