Mable: Okay, I don't know what's happening, but fanfictions and the novel are all flowing like water. I'm just going to go with it! Enjoy!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Seventy-Seven
For whatever reason, Ennard was enamored with certain kinds of food. Occasionally it would talk about cake and ice cream; large slices of fluffy cake and scooping out lumps of ice cream. Ennard liked to prattle on with heavy details about the icing, the sprinkles, the mere act of spooning out ice cream. Then there was the interest in the eggs and the butter. For so long, Scott hadn't caught what Ennard did with the ingredients, and it wasn't until the animatronic outright told him that he realized Ennard had tried to eat them.
So, it liked to talk of cake and ice cream while it liked to eat raw eggs and whole sticks of butter. Yet there was another odd quirk, and this involved popcorn. Scott had never been that interested in popcorn, but he had it in the pantry, and when Ennard found it- Scott still wasn't sure why Ennard was scavenging through his pantry anyway- he had been insistent that his human companion make and eat it. Strangely enough, Scott found his interest piqued in such an odd request, so he went through with popping the popcorn.
It was early evening and already dark from the time of year. Scott was already finished with today's work and settling in with a movie sounded like a fine alternative to his otherwise empty schedule. He put it on some sort of harmless family movie, something that he doubted would rile the animatronic, and settled into his chair. He was only ten minutes in when Ennard decided to do something odd.
Ennard decidedly avoided using furniture. Sometimes it kneeled on the floor and sometimes it just stood around the room, or huddled behind the couch, but it refused to sit down like normal. It used to unnerve Scott how it would simply linger in the room. Over the time that they had lived together though, he had become more accustomed to it. What was different from usual was when Ennard decided to settle in front of Scott's chair.
He stared at the back of its metal head in confusion, unsure whether to ask what he was doing or not. Then out of the blue, Ennard turned his head around and faced the man. Blue eyes stared into his for a few moments.
"What's wrong?" Scott quietly asked. Ennard didn't answer and instead looked to the popcorn bowl in his lap. It was a weird gesture; almost like a pet dog or cat watching with wide eyes as their owner ate something that interested them. He started to catch on. "Do you want some?" He offered the bowl of popcorn.
Ennard's gaze focused on the bowl and it reached out for it. Its wire hand tugged the bowl closer and it leaned upwards. The bottom plates of its mask opened just a little wider and wires slipped out of the mouth hole, dipping into the bowl like a tongue. Scott watched the strange display and felt his appetite wane as the wires encircled the popcorn pieces and dragged back into Ennard's maw. By time it was over, Scott was almost willing to just hand the bowl over.
"Tastes… Hard," Ennard admitted. Then it broke into a fit of the Freddy giggles. "Tastes like butter! But it's not slick enough." Thus, Ennard again confirmed that it was eating his butter.
"Isn't that going to get stuck in your wires?" Scott suggested with doubt.
"Yup!" Ennard responded. "Then I need more butter to get it out!"
"You, uh… Really like butter," Scott remarked with an amused smile growing. It was sort of endearing.
"I love it! It's so… Slick… And warm against my wires." Ennard made a vibrating, groaning noise at the thought. "I love it, I love it, I love it." Its wires shifted happily as it crackled in light laughter.
Scott was about to offer to buy it more, especially now that he knew Ennard was going to eat it regardless, but was interrupted by the phone ringing. Out of reflex, he pushed off the chair and scooted around the animatronic, leaving the popcorn bowl in the chair. The man then entered his office and answered the phone inside.
A few minutes later, Scott rushed back out and made a beeline to the doorway. Ennard watched him from the floor as it now clutched the bowl to its chest. "Where are you going?" it asked as it watched him grab his jacket and throw it on.
"Something happened at Foxy's…"
It had been a relatively normal day at the Pizzeria up until the evening came. Then the schedule was slightly changed as, instead of immediately returning home, there was a sort of casual overtime. Or more specifically, they were clustered around one of the tables with a couple of magazines spread out, looking through possible deals on equipment for the restaurant.
Currently, Mike was flipping through a less than helpful copy of 'Screws, Bolts, and Hairpins'. He briefly paused to look over towards Marionette and Foxy at the stage, where the Puppet was gushing about the party the day before.
"It was wonderful!" Marionette chimed in delight as he spilled to his brother. "Chrissy was so happy by the end and then we served cake and- it was amazing! I think I might have to do more parties outside of the Pizzeria!" Foxy seemed pleased at his younger sibling's reaction.
"An' the songs all went over well?" Foxy inquired. Marionette agreed and Mike would've too. Then again, he could've sung anything and it would've sounded good. Mike inwardly smirked at his own mushiness and returned to the magazine, instantly getting bored from it. He certainly wanted to improve the restaurant, but supplies for pizzerias were few and far between. He was almost half willing to start looking back at Chipper's and Hickory's for spare parts that they were willing to sell cheaply.
However, this was when Jeremy suddenly changed the conversation in a way that would change the entire course of the evening.
"What about our Phone Guy? Think he would know where to look?" Jeremy offered to the others. "He's been connected to a few of these places, right? He probably knows something."
"I think Phone Guy's got his hands plenty full as it is," Mike mumbled as he scanned over a set of color coded lights. Perhaps they would be worth looking into. They would certainly be festive at parties.
"What?" Natalie asked in confusion, sitting between Fritz and Jeremy. "What does that mean? What's up with the 'Phone Guy'?" She almost playfully gave the man the title as she sent Mike an inquisitive look. From her nonchalant demeanor, it was obvious that she thought Mike was exaggerating. Though now on the spot, the security guard couldn't help but think back to Phone Guy's recent behaviors.
"He's been asking weird questions…" Mike sat down the magazine and looked at the three across from him. "Anyone else notice that Phone Guy's been asking a little too much about Ennard for comfort?"
"I haven't noticed, but we've barely talked," Natalie admitted, though then looked over to Fritz. "I know he's been calling you a lot."
"Yeah, yeah. I've noticed that," Fritz agreed. "We go way back… Or way back enough, and he's never been this inquisitive. That's the weird thing; not the interest in Baby and Ennard, but him asking questions at all. He's always been the 'know and don't tell' type… Especially after, you know. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't want to get wrapped up in it."
"But that's not all," Mike volunteered. Now the others were looking with more concern, skepticism on Natalie's part, as the security guard grew more insistent. "Phone Guy called me after meeting up the other night and he was either seriously confused, or it was Baby faking his voice." Part of Mike hoped the others would shoot this theory down. Thus, he only felt dread when Jeremy seemed to perk at the mention.
"That- That happened to me too!" Jeremy admitted. "I was having a long night with Foxy-."
"Surprise, surprise," Mike mumbled out of reflex.
"-when we got a call from Baby pretending to be the Phone," Jeremy revealed. He gestured over towards Foxy, "He heard it himself! He said it was definitely Baby."
"Well, you can't be too sure," Mike remarked. "After all, 'the Phone' gets flighty on the receiver." Yet before any of them could make another suggestion, Foxy suddenly decided to let himself into the conversation and, without a hitch, inserted himself right into the middle of it all.
"Tis' all Baby, it is. She be on the phone fakin' his voice, she be fillin' his head full a Ennard, and the Phone's playin' right into it." Foxy stepped down off the stage and approached the head of the table. Marionette hovered around and instead moved to hover behind Mike, now also more interested in this conversation. Especially since now he and Mike knew that Baby had been calling Foxy with the same ruse.
"Okay, so maybe that's the case. That's… That's really likely. We probably hit the nail on the head," Fritz admitted with a sort of awkwardly forced smile. A strained one that was only there to see humor in something that entirely lacked humor. "But the more important thing is why. Why is the Phone suddenly so interested in all of this?"
"Yeah, and why did we just break down to calling him 'the Phone?" Natalie added in.
"Ain't it obvious?" Foxy announced as he looked around at the group. He entirely ignored Natalie's question and seized Fritz with full force. "Baby's trying to get him to go down into Afton's."
"That might not be it," Jeremy disagreed in a meek voice. Foxy turned to look at him and Jeremy felt even more under scrutiny, but he still felt the need to offer. "Maybe Baby's just… Talking about Ennard because she's concerned? They were together a long time. Hate someone or like them, you start to get close to someone after that."
"Don't let her or it fool ya, Lad. I heard her talk about Ennard," Foxy assured more firmly, pointing his hook in a sort of forewarning way. He then tapped it on the table. "T'was all very suspicious."
"In what way?" Mike murmured out, a growing concern on his face. He could feel Marionette's hand rest on his shoulder. "Come on, Foxy. We can handle it… What was Baby saying?"
With this, Foxy slowly crouched down. His yellow eyes widened as he stared over the table at the humans. For once, he almost seemed scared of what he was saying.
"Baby was talkin' 'bout them becoming Ennard. About what it felt like, about him being all of 'em in one… If ya want me to be honest, Baby talked more 'bout being Ennard then she did being Baby. An' Max'll agree with me. And now the Phone's talkin' all about Ennard and nothin' about Baby…" His hook dragged along the edge of the table. "…I don't think that's Baby in that body. I don't think he's been Baby at all."
"But- Wait," Fritz stopped him and rubbed his face. "Are you sure? How could Ennard fake it so well? I mean, one of you would've noticed." He looked between Marionette and Foxy almost frantically. "Because… It didn't act like your sister?"
There was an awkward silence between both animatronics. Then Marionette volunteered to speak, laying his other hand on Mike's other shoulder. "I don't remember our sister very well…" His hands tightened on Mike's shoulders. "…I was so desperate to be a family… Perhaps I misjudged- I know I misjudged her. I nearly let her hurt a child." The shame was still heavy in his voice.
"I remember her," Foxy broke in. He let out a low growl, "She was always Daddy's lil girl… Used to do stuff an' blame it on me. Even when she didn't, Dad used to blame what she did on me." Marionette head snapped over in surprise and Jeremy sputtered. "But, uh… Kids can be like that, Foxy. That doesn't mean-."
"Ya don't have to defend her. I get it," Foxy assured. "I did things I regret. Maybe she did too… But that Baby-." He pointed towards where she had once been stationed. "Acted nothing like her. Too… gentle."
Mike suddenly blurted out a swear. Everyone looked to him in response, even Foxy himself. "Oh wait, no, wait a minute, wait a second," the security guard began as he looked to Fritz. "Fritz, Baby had a sort of automatic shutdown on her leg, but when I yanked off the panel it was just a bunch of misplaced wires." Mike looked back up at Marionette, dread filling his blue eyes. "If Ennard can fit inside a human body, then Ennard can fit inside Baby's body."
Marionette gasped, though it sounded like a mix between a tune, metal squeaking, and what was almost like a gasp. He drew back his hands and stared back in horror, trying to process that terrible realization. Because Mike and Foxy were right and everyone knew it; Ennard had to be inside of Baby.
"...So… So, what do we do?" Natalie asked. "Do we tell him, or do you think… These questions are because he already knows? He could be in danger if Ennard is trying to get him back into Afton's." In response, Fritz sprung to his feet and hustled into the office.
"I'm calling now!" he called back.
"And make sure he gets his ass over here! I want to make sure I'm not talking with anyone else on the phone!" Mike called after him. He then flipped off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. "I should've caught onto this. Phone Guy lived through being stuffed in a suit and now is stuck with something that wants to wear him like a fur coat!" This almost relieved some of his inner frustration, but it didn't necessarily make him feel better. With a huff, he looked back towards the Puppet. "Mari?"
Marionette was hovering behind him, hands covering his face, head tilted down. Mike only saw a second of it before standing from his chair. Ignoring the others watching him, he immediately pulled Marionette into his arms and held him tightly. He said nothing, but he didn't need to. They were both equally afraid. Mike could feel the growing anxiety chewing on his insides and expressed it through the embrace, tucking the Puppet's head under his chin.
Jeremy watched the scene a little longer than he probably should have, then looked over towards Foxy, who was looking quite a bit less comfortable. He had his head down and was holding onto the edge of the table, looking prone and in distress. With a sigh, he rose from his seat and approached the animatronic, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Captain?"
"Ain't it funny?" Foxy murmured. "It ain't my sister, but it can sure act like it."
"What happened to her?" Natalie quietly asked. She was hesitant to ask such a heavy question, but couldn't help but wonder. "How would she have gotten inside Baby in the first place?" Foxy gave a pathetic shrug while Marionette stayed silently against Mike.
"She disappeared, an' when someone disappears around William Afton, they never come back," Foxy stated with the upmost sureness. "Sorta'd be surprised if Michael- Err, our older brother. If Michael ever popped up again. He's prolly gone fer good… Besides… He made that thing to look like her."
"And Ennard's just a bunch of animatronics together?" Natalie asked in confusion. Then she hummed in thought, "I don't want to be that person, but what if we're wrong? Baby came apart from Ennard so… Maybe she's just all out of place?" Nobody seemed to agree with this thought.
"He's coming," Fritz blurted out as he came back out of the office. "Scott said he was coming right over… I just lied and told him we needed his help with something."
"With what?" Natalie asked curiously. "With saving his life?"
"…He didn't ask so I didn't say," Fritz responded as he headed to the table. He rested his hands on his hips, exhaling tiredly, and then rubbed over his stubbled chin. Then he glanced over at Mike as well, pausing as though he's considering saying something. He then noticed the firm 'Don't do it' look from Natalie and decided to drop it.
Then it was a matter of waiting. Mike coaxed Marionette to the table and the Puppet almost reluctantly settled into his seat, though knelt into it, as though preparing to spring at any moment. Mike stood behind the chair, unable to will himself to sit back down after getting so riled. Instead he stood behind Marionette and kept his hands on his shoulders, totally reversing their positions from earlier.
It was Jeremy who noticed the car pulling into the parking lot. "He's here," he forewarned. Specifically, Foxy, who stood and started for the stage to hide himself out of view. He was still close enough to hear what was going on though. Mike looked down to Marionette, wondering if he would go as well, considering that Phone Guy knew he was alive. Though before he could question it, Marionette tilted his head back to look at Mike.
They just stared at each other for a few moments. Both knew that the other was thinking about what happened in Afton's; it was impossible to forget how close they had gotten to something so disgustingly brutal. With a slow exhale, Mike took ahold of Marionette's head, even upside down, and traced along his porcelain with his thumbs. Though right as Fritz went to open the door, Mike released Marionette, who jolted over to the curtain so quickly that it was almost unbelievable.
Fritz led Phone Guy in and the man looked clearly concerned by the situation. "What happened? There isn't a lawsuit, is there?"
"No, nothing legal. Just… Uh…" Fritz stood at the head of the table and looked down. "Why don't you sit down?" Mike and Jeremy also sat down as the Phone Guy pulled himself out a seat. "There's a few things we all need to come out about."
"…Come out?" Phone Guy got a weird look on his face. "Oh wow, this- this isn't about William, is it?"
Behind the curtain, Foxy muttered a growl of, "I knew it," to Marionette. Foxy could care less about Phone Guy in contrast to Marionette's more disapproval. However, Foxy did have a theory concerning the man on the phone. "I knew I 'membered that voice. He's totally the guy who was kissin' up to Dad." This promptly was rewarded with a flat look from his sibling.
"I think we already know too much about old Afton as it is," Mike volunteered. Phone Guy seemed almost relieved by the revelation. "This is about Baby." The concern returned and Mike raised his hands to insert air quotes, "This is about 'Baby'."
"She's… Been alright," Phone Guy affirmed to the group. "Just usually stays in the garage… Sometimes I talk with her. Sometimes we, uh… Talk about things… Parties and cakes, she likes those… What is this about?" He started to catch on as he noticed everyone's strange looks. "This sort of looks like some sort of intervention."
"Interrogation is more appropriate," Mike pointed out. "But to be fair, this is how we do all our business meetings. Just usually it's Jeremy looking nervous." This got an awkward chuckle out of Jeremy, someone forced, and Phone Guy looked a bit less comfortable.
"It's about Baby," Natalie was the one who caught to the chase. She was the only of the four who hadn't a close connection to the Phone Guy, so it was less difficult to get it out. "Have you seen Baby… Come out of her body? Like- okay, this is a weird way- but has she taken her outside off?"
"No… I never saw her take her suit off…" Phone Guy looked a little twitchy. He got this strange look, like he knew what was coming, like it was impending doom. "…Why?"
"Because we think Baby's Ennard," Fritz finally came out with. "It probably sounds insane, but there's just been some weird inconsistencies about everything… Have you noticed anything?"
"More specifically a white clown mask," Mike broke out. "About this big. Has a red nose that makes this weird… Crunchy noise when squeezed. You can't miss it."
"Baby has a clown mask," Scott pointed out. "…On her face, but it has a molded-on nose. Nothing like that…" He then started to become defensive. "Why are you asking all this now? Did something happen?"
"You started to happen," Mike pointed out. "You've been asking an awful lot about Ennard... Except for the other night when you called and said you wanted me to leave out the literally gory details." He noticed the vacant look on Phone Guy's face and started focus in on it. "Unless that wasn't you on the phone."
"I'm… Sorry. When was this?" Phone Guy nearly squeaked out.
"The night after we talked outside. You called me, and we were shooting the breeze about stuffing chicken." Mike ignored the looks from everyone else staring at him. "You don't remember? What a shame, I thought we really connected, especially with how much you kept asking me about what we were talking about earlier." An uncomfortable silence followed this.
"Uh… I don't remember that," Phone Guy admitted. "But I- my medication does that sometimes. Especially when I take it late." He looked around uncomfortably at the group. It was embarrassing, but on the same hand it was the better option than admitting to anything else. Scott was just too reluctant to admit to anything else involving Ennard or Baby. He became panicked, "I don't know what you think I'm hiding- I don't know why you would think that I'm hiding any of this. I've been honest."
"Because… Because Baby's persuasive. I've heard her on the phone," Jeremy explained. "She sounds just like the real thing, like you, but only animatronics can tell! Foxy-!" Foxy took this time to poke his head out of the curtain. "Foxy was the only one who could tell!... And they all do it. They all have a 'human' voice."
Phone Guy was starting to shake, especially in his hands that were balled together on the table. He was beginning to breathe faster and his eyes got a glazed look. Mike wondered if he was having some sort of an attack, but if he was he was handling it way better than Mike himself could've. Then, out of nowhere, Phone Guy stood.
"I need- I need to go check some things," Phone Guy said shakily. "Just… I'll call you, I promise, and I'll say something so you know it's me. I just need to go." He stood awkwardly, wobbling at his seat, and started limping off to the door. Fritz and Jeremy glanced to each other, wondering if he was going to check on Baby alone or was just dodging their questioning.
Mike stood just as abruptly, unwilling to let the older man leave without saying his peace. "I trust you, but you need to know the facts," Mike laid out, calling back towards the man who stopped right at the doorway. "Whether or not Ennard is here or in Afton's, its main goal in life is to get a human down in that Scooping Room. End of story." His intense gaze landed on the older man's back and stayed there.
The room was almost entirely silent, except the low humming noise coming from behind the curtain. Fritz, Jeremy, and Natalie all just stared without words, with Fritz halfway standing and then getting stuck there. Mike stared firmly after Phone Guy, waiting for a response.
Then, suddenly, Phone Guy inhaled a gulp of air. "I'm in over my head, aren't I?" Mike's brows raised, not expecting the man to admit to anything like this. Phone Guy turned and faced him, his breathing shaky and the panic still on his face. "I do this, you know. I keep going back. I did it with Freddy's too. I saw the signs and I kept going back…"
"We all do," Mike volunteered. "I don't know if you heard about what went down at Hickory's, but long story short, I can't stay away from animatronics that want to kill me. I'm a magnet to it."
"That happens in this line of work," Phone Guy offered. Though there was something else on his face, a sort of depressed look. "We just don't quit while we're ahead…" As much as he didn't want to, he knew what needed to be done. He was too close to the situation, just like he had been with William. He couldn't risk it again and he couldn't ignore the inconsistencies. "...It's too late tonight, but… Come by the house tomorrow and we can get the truth from Baby."
They would fine out the truth, but it bought him one more night to prepare himself. Though from the looks on everyone else's face, they took this reveal as a confession. To be honest, they weren't too far from the truth. "Just give me tonight… I'll call you in the morning and we'll figure this out."
"…Alright. I trust you," Mike agreed. Though it was less trust and more that he knew Phone Guy had no other options to hide or protect Baby. "We'll be over there as soon as you call, just don't wait too long. Bad things always come when we let stuff wait," the security guard affirmed. He then watched as Phone Guy headed out the door, leaving them behind.
"Do you think he's really going to do it?" Jeremy quietly asked the others. "He could just move Baby tonight… Or Ennard."
"I don't know what I trust. I know human nature, and a human's nature doesn't usually," Mike began as he moved to sit back down, "but he's not stupid. There's nowhere else to take Baby. Hell, he doesn't even really have the tools to take care of Baby, so unless he decides to borrow our van he's out of luck." He then looked to Fritz, "By the way, don't let him borrow the van."
"Gee, are you sure, Mike? Maybe he needs it to move some furniture," Fritz sarcastically forced out. He immediately slipped back out of it again and dropped into the chair. "I guess now we wait and tomorrow we'll get the truth…" A heavy moment of uncomfortable silence. "…Anyone want some leftover pizza?"
Scott was already suffering from the tremors when he left Foxy's, but they were moderately worse by time he arrived at home. He hurried and let himself into the house. Unfortunately, he was almost immediately rounded on by Ennard. Its bright blue eyes looked to Scott with curiosity and concern.
"What happened?" they asked with the tilt of its head. "Something was wrong with Foxy? With Mari? What was it?" Its questioning towards the other animatronics would've been endearing, but this was a delicate situation. Scott inhaled and felt a spark of pain down his spine; he needed his medication.
"They, uh… They want to come see Baby," Scott decided to reveal. "They're a little worried about how Baby is doing… How you're doing." Ennard's previous excitement immediately started to die down and it started to draw back, as though Scott's words alone were a threat. "They're going to be here tomorrow."
"They're taking me back down there," Ennard spoke. Its voice was low and its emotion unreadable.
"N-Now they didn't say that!" Scott argued. "They just want to check in is all. Nobody has any plans of taking you back down there, okay? You just…" He started heading to the bathroom and opened the medical cabinet. He fumbled around until he found the proper bottle and swallowed a pill with a handful of water. He would've preferred not to take it this way, but he was already too far past his last dose. He returned the bottle and called out, "They're just worried."
There was no answer.
"…Ennard?" Scott stepped out of the bathroom to find Ennard missing and the garage door cracked open. He pushed the door open and found Ennard removing the button-like object from its chest. Its bow of wires came undone and loosely relaxed against its front. Then it reached out and started to open the plates of Baby's exterior. "Ennard, you don't have to go in now. They aren't coming until morning, and that's not even until I call. We'll have plenty of warning."
"I'm not safe," Ennard quietly disagreed in Baby's own voice. It seemed like it was already getting into character. It started to step into the suit and let its wires fill the inside space.
"If you're sure…" Scott felt awkward standing there, watching the animatronic suit itself, but he didn't protest. "…I don't know if you want to tell them the truth about who you are, but if you do I will stand by you. It's been… Different… Living together like this, but there's no reason that you have to return to Afton's." Unless Ennard wanted to return to Afton's like Mike said. "…You don't want to return to Afton's, right?"
"It's so cold down there, Scott…" Ennard admitted as it started to close the plates around it. "And I was alone for so long… I can pretend forever if it means I can stay with you."
Something about this comment made Scott feel strange. Largely because it sounded so finite, as though Ennard was certain that this was the end. That, and because it sounded so human, even as it used the fake sound of Baby's voice. Suddenly Scott was becoming more worried about what the others would find than what Ennard itself would do.
"I'll be awake if you need me," the human spoke as he turned to head back inside. He could hear the rest of the plates shut and the shifting of wires inside of a largely empty body. "…This'll work out in the end." Then he stepped out of the garage.
It was just like with William, Scott lamented. He knew he was stuck in a dangerous situation and yet he was second guessing it. Though he couldn't stay silent on it, not when Ennard had been his companion. It had been passive, somewhat friendly, and was able to learn and obey commands. It wasn't like the bloodthirsty animatronics; Ennard was a learning, living being. It was that blank spot of the past that he didn't know about that left him unable to take a side in this dispute.
The rest of the night was uncomfortably quiet. Scott ate dinner, he vacuumed up the popcorn that Ennard spilt on the floor, he checked on the kittens and fussed on his cats, and he made it an early night. The sooner to bed, the sooner to get to the next morning, and the sooner to get some sort of resolution to all of this.
And then he was awoken in the middle of the night by a hand shaking his shoulder. Scott's eyes snapped open and he turned his head to see Ennard looming over him. His throat clenched briefly and he started to sit upwards. Ennard stopped him, nudging him to lay back down.
"Don't," Ennard instructed. "I'm sorry. I know you didn't want me to come in here like this…" The soft, feminine voice cracked with a heavier humming noise underneath. "But… I wanted to see you before morning."
"It's okay," Scott answered before he even truly considered it and rolled onto his back. "What's wrong?"
"I'm scared," Ennard admitted. Its blue eyes darted around anxiously before landing again on Scott. Its hand squeezed his arm. "You're always so warm…" Something was strange on the voice. The crackling and the breathing was more obvious than usual, along with the strangely solemn demeanor, Baby voice or not. "Can I stay? I don't want to be alone."
"…Sure," Scott offered. He wasn't certain if he meant this fully or not, but Ennard did seem surprisingly fearful. The man turned back over and faced the wall again, beginning to relax even with the gaze on his back. Ennard wasn't going to do anything and he was just tired enough that he could maybe sleep through it.
Or he almost could've until the wires slid further over him. Now Scott's anxiousness began to grow as the wires wrapped around him and the mask pressed against his back. There was a dizzying feeling of losing control, but it was mixed with something else. Something a little more familiar. It had been so long since someone had held him, or hugged him, or showed any physical affection to him at all. Scott missed it just enough that he found himself unable to turn the animatronic away.
Scott wasn't sure how long they laid there before he fell back asleep. Though he awoke again sometime later to find Ennard gone. Normally, he would've taken this as normal and fallen back asleep, but he felt a little too restless. After Ennard's strange behavior, he didn't expect the animatronic to just disappear. He had only assumed that it would stay the night after it had wrapped itself around him like that- part of him would've preferred it that way. Scott slipped on his leg and stepped out into the living room.
The front door was open.
It took a few seconds to sink in, but Scott approached and looked outside at the nighttime outside. He wasn't worried about the cats; they never had an interest in going outside and the kittens weren't moving well enough to get all the way out the door. However, there was something else to worry about.
"Oh no, no. Please be in the garage…" Scott hurried to the garage door and threw it open. Inside, Baby's shell was open and empty. There was no point in checking the office or the bathroom and he saw nothing in the kitchen; Ennard had walked outside and disappeared into the night without a word. However, Scott already had a feeling that he knew where it went.
Ennard was going back to Afton Robotics.
Mable: Scott has this bad habit of getting too attached to people he shouldn't, doesn't he? Nothing like being possibly rejected by an animatronic that has nowhere else to go. Jokes aside, this could go badly very quickly… But the next chapter will be posted as soon as I can finish! I hope you enjoyed!