Mable: Alright, here we go again!

Marionetty: Goodness, I'm so sorry. I hope your parents let you keep using Fanfiction. It really is a great place. I mean, like all sites there can be questionable spots, but that's the minority and you'll find that on just about every website. I do hope you can stick around to see the end of the fic!

New poll release, not much else to say. Enjoy!

Can't Go Home Again

Chapter Ninety-Four

Much to both Mike and Marionette's relief, the next hour went relatively smoothly. Something had distracted Foxy, Ennard, and Springtrap in the back for a while, which ended in all three seemingly splitting up from each other. Baby had tried to get in two more times but stopped once it became apparently that moving back and forth between vents wouldn't work. That didn't mean that they thought she was gone. If anything, they both just suspected that she was plotting from a safe distance, or waiting until Springtrap tried to get in.

Oddly enough, Springtrap didn't seem interested in the office. Foxy was camped outside one of the security door that led into the pizzeria. He could still hear giggling and shuffling from inside, so he had become convinced that there were children and that he needed to protect them. Ennard was almost pacing around the outer rooms as he tried to avoid Baby, avoid the sounds of children's laughter, and find some crack or nook to squeeze himself through to freedom. Mike suspected that given the chance, any of them would flee the maze.

Then there was Mike and Marionette. To cut down on noise, which seemed to help keep the animatronics away, Mike was in a constant battle with the ventilation. He alternated between brief periods of silencing the ventilation, then would shut the ventilation off to check the motion detectors and try to hold out until he was too hot to think straight. He couldn't tell if that was helping in keeping Springtrap and Baby at bay, but he wouldn't risk the chance of coaxing them back to the office.

Marionette was constantly on guard. Mike knew that he could get bored just like any human would, but whether it be the metal and programming inside of him or his own dread, Marionette was staying in a constant state of alertness. He lingered behind Mike, carefully listening for the vents, and always silently thinking of various ways he could react if something did come in. Occasionally they would exchange some light words, which were usually ironic comments about the heat or the situation. Occasionally Marionette would return to fanning Mike.

It was a relief when the HandUnit gave a loud click to signal that it had finished its task. Mike took it into his hands, it still plugged into the computer, and looked at what was on display. Some commands were basic, such as forcing shutdown of the computer, rebooting the computer, searching for viruses, searching for passwords, and other rather meaningless things. However, there was also a list of files that the HandUnit detected and for some reason decided they were significant. Mike could only assume that it was because the files were protected or hidden.

"Back down the rabbit hole…" Mike mumbled as he quickly checked the computer's motion detectors. It was fortunate that the computer could still run fine with the HandUnit plugged in, but Mike did notice that it was now running a little slower. Considering that there was no change in activity from the other animatronics, he let this slide. Instead, he tapped on the first file and watched as the screen pulled up a blueprint. Both studied it, with Mike lifting it as Marionette leaned over his shoulder. They were somewhat surprised to see a familiar claw pictured on the blueprint.

"Huh, the Scooper… Guess some things did carry over from Afton's. Not sure why this one of all things," Mike muttered as he scanned the description. "Scalable Creation of Ulterior Presence… Alright, I see one red flag already. I think the world 'ulterior' basically confirms that this thing was used in something diabolical." He looked over the words again and narrowed his gaze. "Creation of 'Ulterior Presence'… What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" He could feel Marionette cross his arms on his upper back as he continued to peer over his shoulder.

"Excavating Arm, Remnant Injector, hmm…" Marionette peered closer at a note underneath the second. "Over-usage and over-exposure negates effect… I can only assume that would mean that repeated use wouldn't work as well? But would that be the arm itself or whatever was being scooped by it?"

"Maybe the bots didn't function right after being scooped too much. Could explain why Ennard's like he is," Mike pointed out as he read over the rest. He dropped to the bottom and happened to read something else that caught his attention. "Whoa, hold on a second. What's this?" He reached ahead and tapped another note underneath a label of 'Remnant Reservoir'.

"'When heated, no observable motion. Keep in heated tank at sustained temperature. Substance should be malleable'-. Are they talking about the metal Ennard's made of?" There was a pause. "…That's disturbing. If this is saying the metal was kept hot to keep it from moving-."

"'There is a possibility that overheating might neutralize the effects permanently'…" Marionette continued ahead. Mike fell silent and Marionette started to straighten behind him. Any hope that this was innocent quickly faded away. "…Mike… I think that the 'effects' are the movements… This is saying that they- that Afton was keeping the tank heated to subdue Ennard, or the other animatronics, and they somehow figured out that overheating them would… Kill them…" Marionette gave an off-tune noise of disturbance. "…Afton knew how to force spirits out of their bodies."

"But he didn't do it, obviously. He wanted Ennard and them alive to snatch kids. He must've just wanted a way to cover his back if he lost control of the situation," Mike muttered with distaste as he looked back to the HandUnit. "Let's move onto the next one before we really take in what that one meant." They then moved to the next one, which was a strange blueprint that portrayed something that looked like a cluster of shapes. "Remote Activated Simulated C. I'm guessing its short for 'rascal', but I have no clue what this is supposed to be."

Scanning through the words on the edge, it seemed to be some sort of contraption to control temperature and override 'sensors', but the words had little context to Mike. To him it just read like a throwaway blueprint, so he decided to take advantage of the fact that he had Marionette with him. "What do you make of this?"

"I'm very concerned," Marionette admitted. "I'm guessing it could be connected to the Scooper. Perhaps it's the mechanism that heats the reservoir in the Scooper… Which makes me wonder…" He looked around at the vents. "Could there be a second Scooper hidden somewhere in this Pizzeria? That could explain the heat in these vents; we could be experiencing some form of exhaust." He tapped his fingers on Mike's shoulders. "Chance was planning to scrap the animatronics in here, yes? Then this heat could be from a constantly heated Scooper."

"Makes enough sense. Seems a little too hot to just be exhaust…" Mike voiced his concerns and then immediately regretted it. He tried to get the mood back to a less dreadful one. "I can tell you one thing. If it gets one degree hotter, I'm just going to shrivel in a corner and neutralize my effects," Mike quipped as he moved to the second file. "Next."

What came up this time seemed to be the upper portion of a bear animatronic's blueprint. While Mike was largely unphased at the sight of what looked to be another version of Freddy, Marionette's eyes widened, and he felt trepidation start to sink in. Mike meanwhile was struck by a strange noise. He blinked in confusion, focused in on the sound, and then looked back at the Puppet. "Mari, Doll, you're ticking."

"I am?" Marionette raised a shaking hand to his chest. Underneath his buttons he could hear his internal music box trembling and clicking with small sorts of misfires. As though his heart was racing, but without an actual pulse. "I suppose I am. This is all just… A bit much."

"Do you want to sit down?" Mike offered. Though even as he asked this, Marionette's gaze drifted to the screen and he started to read. Against his better judgement, Mike let the question drop and allowed himself to turn back and read. "We'll just keep going. This would be what, Freddy number seven? Must be that knock off Freddy Chance namedropped," Mike said as he looked over the screen. "Lure Encapsulate Fuse Transport and Extract. Ugh, well, here we go again. Will's back to kidnapping kids inside of animatronics," Mike boldly spat as he gestured a hand to the blueprint.

However, Marionette was beginning to doubt this was for children, because the bear- L.E.F.T.E. or Lefty- was the black bear that trapped him inside. It only grew worse when he kept reading.

"Navigational Sensors, of course. False Sensory Output. Bracelet code? Nine, three, four- emit for security receiver frequency FZ554. Does any of this make sense to you?" Mike asked and looked back. He did a double take when he noticed the absolute look of horror stuck on Marionette's face. His own eyes widened in concern and he asked, "Mari?" The Puppet nodded stiffly in answering the question. Noticing his growing shaking, Mike reached upwards and took his hand. "You know what these numbers are?" Marionette squeezed Mike's hand tighter without answering, because he had now read ahead.

Mike sent a confused look back at the blueprint screen and continued reading. "Dream Wand Soother; use lullaby index one. Upon suit-seal, provide steady voltage- God… Voltage throughout. Behavior upon suit-seal not guaranteed…" His alarm turned to anger. "What was William getting out of this?! What sort of sick pleasure was he getting from making these things?! That son of a-!" Mike cut off when he noticed Marionette suddenly brush by and head towards the left vent. He became concerned immediately. "What's going on? Where are you going?"

"I thought I heard Foxy," Marionette excused as he entered the vent. "I just have to go see." Mike had a feeling that it was an excuse. He looked down in uncertainty before looking through the desk. As soon as he found a pen he took one of the papers laying on the desk- some sort of typed waver document that he did a quick once over of before deciding that it was unimportant- and tore off a piece to scribble the numbers down onto. Maybe he couldn't ask Marionette about this now, but he could remember it and ask him once they were out of here.

Because Marionette was in no state to talk. As soon as the Puppet was in the room outside the vent, he leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor. He wrapped an arm around himself while using his other hand to cover his mouth. Somehow, he managed to even keep his music box silent, even as the purple tears rolled over his hand and down his face. He shuddered inwardly as the blueprint stayed etched in his mind, right where he couldn't ignore it. There was nowhere to run from what he had just seen.

What seemed like basic numbers and simple codes was really a deadly form of bait. It was all familiar, especially that security code and the number, which fit exactly to the programming that he thought he had suppressed for so long. It reminded him of years ago, back when Freddy's was still open and when they were still testing different plans for keeping children safe. One of the ideas that never came to fruition were bracelets that would be given to the children so that the animatronics would know where they were. Alas, Jeremy's bite ended that idea before it could come to light.

Yet the programming was still inside him. Instead of luring Marionette to a child though, it had silently coaxed him inside of the bear. Though that wasn't the worst of it. Adding that with the 'lullaby' and the 'soother', it was obvious that whoever set that trap wanted to keep him inside of it and knew everything about his weaknesses and programming. From the previous blueprints it was also obvious that Afton was aware that the animatronics were carrying souls inside of them. He even knew how to erase them forever.

William Afton knew Marionette was alive and tried to trap him. He probably also knew the truth about their relation, and it only made Marionette feel so much worse. He hated himself for crying over the Purple Man, or crying again tonight at all, but he doubted he could stop it even if he tried.

What was worse was that he was too thoroughly embarrassed and panicked to tell Mike any of it. He didn't want to relive the memories of being stuck in the suit while he was still stuck in these vents. Though it wasn't just that. Marionette couldn't deny how ashamed he was that he had been captured by a bear that didn't do anything to get him inside. He couldn't bear it yet. Instead, he would cry away the frustration, then go back to protecting Mike with a clear head. He would tell him the truth when he could handle it.

Inside the office, Mike had moved to the next blueprint and was taken aback to see a familiar mask. "What in the…?" He stared at the distorted Freddy mask, blinking back his confusion, and read over what it said. "Facial Recognition File 0072. Security Tags Active: Funtime Freddy, Funtime… Foxy- He knew." He looked over the names underneath the security tags: Funtime Freddy, Funtime Foxy, and Ballora. In short, it was Ennard, but this brought a new realization. "Chance knew that was Ennard… And he knows Ennard's made of other animatronics…"

Mike tapped his fingers slowly on the desk as it all started to sink in. "And he knows Baby's not a part of Ennard… And he knows Ennard is dangerous, and he has him in here on purpose, and that's why he has all this information on the Scooper. Chances are he knows about Scott too." He reached up to rub his face. "Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. He knows the truth about Ennard, but if he knew about Scott then he wouldn't have been so chummy." He gave a sigh and went to read further. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Schmidt. This is all hard enough without you jumping the gun."

Though the next part of the file made Mike very suspicious. Even though Marionette wasn't in the room, Mike continued to quietly talk to himself, as though talking himself through the information. "Priority One; with the most amount of remnant- there's that word again- collectively in its structure, this amalgamation of Afton's constructs is a necessary element of Paragraph Four… Wait a minute." It was the wording that suddenly brought a new truth to light.

"Afton didn't make these blueprints… Or if he did, he didn't make all of them. Unless Afton's naming himself in the third person, but even then, this wouldn't make much sense." He then locked onto the end of the statement and the two words that stood out most, "What is Paragraph Four?"

Thankfully, clicking on the words on the HandUnit took him to a new page that showed the alleged 'Paragraph Four' along with its description. "Paragraph Four: Protocol for subduing and containing animatronics. Activates at Six AM automatically." Underneath this was a button to override the timer and start it immediately, but Mike was hesitant to 'subdue animatronics' considering these red flags littering the blueprints in the computer. It seemed to him that he would prefer handling the semi-predictable animatronics than deal with Chance's secret programming.

With a low exhale, Mike checked the motion detectors again and looked over the vent pattern. Now it suddenly looked much more sinister. "…We could be wrong about the framing. Maybe he's going to open the pizzeria, get it full of people, and then unleash the animatronics on them," Mike suggested under his breath. "The kids inside right now might just be to buy the animatronics off… To keep them passive until showtime."

Mike felt ill and anxious. He fumbled with the HandUnit and tried to get it back to the blueprints. Once back at the lefty blueprint, he tried to tap on the numbers to see if it directed him there. The HandUnit didn't respond. "Come on, if Mari won't tell me then you have to," Mike murmured as he impatiently continued tapping. He glanced away briefly to look at the computer screen once more; Baby had moved a room closer, but everything else was about the same. Or it was, until he suddenly heard a thumping noise under the desk.

"What the-?" Mike looked under at the computer equipment hiding underneath. There was a moment of silence, when Mike thought maybe the computer had just made an innocent noise of protest, but that hope was dashed as the computer suddenly began to whirr loudly. There was a groaning, a chattering, clicking and humming, and then an obnoxiously loud shuffling as papers were jumbled around. Out of the side of part of the computer's attachments, a piece of paper started to slowly inch out, revealing that the computer was printing.

"What- I didn't tell you to print!" Mike cried out as if the computer listening. He started to violently tap all over the HandUnit's screen to no avail. Clicking around on the monitor didn't help either and even turning off the monitor only, as expected, turned off the monitor and nothing else. He threw himself under the desk to look for something to stop the noise.

Outside of the room, Marionette was suddenly struck by the obscenely loud noise. If the ventilation was moderately audible in the vents, then the sound now coming from the office was blaring like a trumpet. It was a declaration that the office was right there, that someone was in it, and that whoever heard it should be curious enough to come. Marionette choked in horror and flung himself right back through the vent.

"What is that noise?" Marionette inquired anxiously. It took him only a second to see what was occurring as Mike climbed out from under the desk. "You're printing?! Why on Earth are you printing?!"

"It's not like I- Are you crying?" Mike challenged back, gesturing to the copious amount of purple smeared on his mask and hands. Marionette swiftly turned himself to furiously wipe at his face. Mike was left standing there, hand pointed out, almost entirely baffled at the sudden one-eighty that the evening took. "I didn't even tell it to print! I was just clicking around and the thing started printing! And it's connected to the computer, so there's no unplugging it now!" At this point, even Mike was starting to panic.

"You can't imagine how loud that is out there, Mike," Marionette added as though he was scolding. "And that's just the sort of noise that's going to send anything with a shred's worth of damage into a frenzy!" He continued to vigorously rub at his face until he was thoroughly convinced that his mask was clean. It wasn't entirely, but it was generally less obvious unless someone looked at his hands. "Shut the computer off."

"I can't shut the computer off!" Mike explained as he smacked his hand on the top of the screen. "I can shut the monitor off and leave us completely in the dark, but the printer keeps running and there's no off switch on the tower. There's not even an outlet- the wire just disappears into the wall!" He dramatically continued to gesture as though to get his words through.

"How could you accidently tell it to print?! Computers just don't spontaneously print unless you click something to make them print!" Marionette pointed out as he flung his hands into the air in exasperation.

"It's not like I wanted it to print! What am I going to do with these blueprints?! Frame them and hang them in the living room?! Oh yeah, there's an ice breaker!" Mike defended. This was unintentionally countered by a rush of frustrated static from Marionette. Though right as it seemed that the fight would continue as long as the printing did, it was cut abruptly short by a new noise.

A deep, low groan came from the left side vent.

Mike and Marionette both looked over abruptly. The Puppet's hands lowered, and the security guard's eyes widened as he muttered, "Please tell me that's Ennard."

With only those words, something started to crawl through. Marionette was quickly to block the vent and look inside. He was almost entirely unsurprised to see Springtrap halfway through the vent and slowly closing in. He blared a warning of music and static, but unlike Baby, Springtrap wasn't detoured by the prospect of a fight. He simply continued onwards towards the office. Now Mike stepped in and jammed his flashlight into the vent beside Marionette. The light shined down into the rabbit's eyes and caused it to shudder.

Unfortunately, while they had stunned Springtrap, Mike could already hear something coming down through the other vent. He looked over his shoulder and gave a hiss of distress. "We've got another one… Here, hold this!" Mike insisted as he handed the flashlight over to Marionette and turned away. He grabbed the office chair as he heard the animatronic approaching the opening. "I am not dying over a printer." With a sharp swing, he slammed the office chair's wheels into the opening of the vent. There was a cry and a burst of garbled noise in response.

"Oww! Hey! Wha-Wha-What's wrong with y-you?!" A male voice cried out as it balanced between uneasily high pitched and a garbled undertone. Mike clenched his teeth and started to draw the office chair back out. A body of wires with a broken Freddy mask slid into the office and sent an intense stare, probably a glare, towards Mike.

"Sorry, I thought you were Baby," Mike quickly excused. He wasn't really feeling friendly with Ennard, but he would take what he could get for help. He mentally noted that Ennard was wearing the same mask from the blueprint and it was like what Marionette had described. He decided not to bring it up. "Springtrap's in the other vent trying to get in."

Ennard responded with what could only be described as a hiss. He climbed out of the one vent and stormed over to the other vent. He grabbed Marionette around the middle, before Mike could stop him, and slung the Puppet over into his grasp.

"Hold this," Ennard commanded and then delved into the vent. With a garbled cry of frustration, he crawled in and attempted to push Springtrap back. Instead, they seemed to get into a sort of partial fight, even with Ennard still half out of the vent.

For a moment, Mike just held Marionette to his chest, thinking maybe this would buy some time. Marionette turned himself in Mike's grasp so that he could look back at the vent. He then sent a glance down under the desk where the computer had dropped a paper and was now printing a second. "Exactly how much was it supposed to print?" Marionette asked as he tried to remember how many files were on the unit.

"What it was supposed to print? Nothing," Mike answered. "What it's going to print? Probably everything that it can." He held the Puppet tighter against him and for the moment guarded him as though the animatronics were breaking in to steal him away. Marionette's hands tightened on his arm as there came a low thumping from the vent Ennard had first come out of. It didn't sound like Foxy, so there was little doubt that the animatronic wasn't Baby. The dread returned, even with Ennard currently blocking Springtrap.

Marionette climbed out of Mike's grasp and flung himself against the edge of the vent. He could easily see Baby inside and his patience was wearing thin. This time he would make sure she wasn't so eager to come back. He started to climb in after her, all while she was staring with those glowing green eyes.

"I hear him in there," Baby spat out suspiciously. Unlike before, she gave no false pretense of innocence or patience. "I just want to see what he's doing in there. Don't you wonder what he's here to do?" She watched unimpressed as Marionette crawled closer to her. He twitched in growing stress, unsure if his voice would hold out long enough to respond. "I know you're not stupid. You know we've been brought here for a reason. You just don't know what."

Marionette eyes widened briefly and then narrowed sharply once more. He shoved his hands forwards and with a burst of telekinesis shoved Baby back. Baby was caught off-guard and gave a noise like a gasp as she slid back in the vents. She spread out her arms to slow down her movement, but Marionette responded with another surge of a shove. He continued crawling in closer and only braced himself to shove back. With a thump, she half fell out of the vent and landed on her wheeled feet.

Yet Marionette was not content. He gave her another harsh push, and because of the wheels on her feet she couldn't brace herself. She glided right back until her back hit the wall with a loud banging. Her wires shivered and her metal squeaked in protest at the impact.

"You would save yourself the time and embarrassment if you would just quit while you're ahead," Marionette remarked to her with a continued glare. He leaned out of the vent just enough to stare her down. "I will not play with you any longer, Baby. This is your final warning. Forget trying to get into this office or I will break you down," the Puppet threatened. "From the looks of it, it wouldn't take very much."

With a sudden, mechanized cry of fury, Baby rushed towards him. He didn't wait for her to reach him. Marionette sprung out of the vent and dove onto her head and shoulders. He wove his strings into her metal as Baby swung up at him with her clawed arm, knocking him over her head and behind her. She went to turn on him, intending to dig her claw into him, but his strings tightened. He was forcibly held to her back as he retracted his strings in as tight as they would go, listening to the flimsy plates of her body cracking under the pressure.

Baby reached back and grabbed a bundle of the strings before trying to yank back while clamping to break the strings. Neither happened and her temper flared out of control. The clown's next idea was to slam Marionette back into the wall with every intention of crushing him. In the last moment he turned himself around so that he could wrap his arms around her neck. He kept his head above her shoulder, so the blow, though somewhat harsh, didn't touch his mask. He dug his fingers into her chest and wrapped them around some sort of circular protrusion that almost felt like a light.

Marionette yanked at the fixture, dragging it and its wires slowly out of her frame. Baby responded by flinging her left hand back and striking him. Metal met porcelain and Marionette quickly turned his face away to protect it. One arm stayed around her neck to brace himself, even as she slammed him back into the wall again, and the second hand continued to try and pull her makeshift pieces apart. She twisted her arm and flung her claw behind her head. He ducked down as it clamped at air while seeking out fabric.

Strings pulled taunt and plates continued to crack as they shifted together. His music was almost deafening, forcing him on, and he didn't hear when Foxy entered to room.

Seeing the scene, Foxy rushed in and pried Baby forward so he could free Marionette. The Puppet protested briefly, but then his focus returned to the office, and he started to retract his strings. He couldn't waste any more time with Baby when the only thing standing between Mike and Springtrap was Ennard. Foxy preceded to shove Baby back and the two began to wrestle together. Without a word, Marionette jumped back towards the vent and started to climb inside.

Back in the office, Mike had been dealing with his own fiasco. Almost as soon as Marionette was out of the office, Ennard was forced back through the vent. He slumped awkwardly, as though his wires were coming undone, and was soon pinned by Springtrap's upper body as the rabbit tried to climb down over him. Mike flinched back and looked for the flashlight, but he couldn't see where Marionette had put it. So instead, he grabbed for the only thing he had to defend himself with; the office chair. In a smooth motion, he swung the office chair down on the back of Springtrap's head.

The rabbit fumbled briefly before turning its head almost all the way around and staring upwards at Mike. If Springtrap could glare, then it was doing it now. Mike responded by swinging the office chair down again. Meanwhile, he could see Ennard trying to entangle the rabbit's arms in his own wires. Now effectively working together, he continued trying to strike the rabbit. Or he did until Marionette returned.

"Mike!" Marionette called out through static and panic as he popped halfway out of the vent. Mike turned to him with an expectedly wild look.

"Where's the flashlight?!" Mike blurted out. As though the flashlight would truly solve all their problems. The Puppet was just about to respond when he was suddenly yanked back. He grabbed on the edge of the vent and tried to stop himself, then looked back to see Baby further in the vent. Apparently, she had barged past Foxy and her claw was currently clamped on his leg. She tugged at him and he was somewhat surprised at her strength. His hands almost released, but he just barely managed to hold on.

Mike realized what was happening and threw the chair down to rush in. He grabbed Marionette around the torso and attempted to yank him out of the vent. He almost got him out a little bit when Baby pulled back. Marionette was dragged back in, along with Mike's upper half. He kept his legs outside the vent to anchor himself as he tried to tug the Puppet back out, but another pull and he was out of his grasp. Mike caught him by the wrist and struggled to hold on.

"I've got you!" Mike insisted. He could see Marionette trying to claw at the ridges in the walls of the vent. "Just hold on and I'll get something-!" Maybe Baby was listening and that's why she chose that moment to violently tear them apart. Marionette disappeared into the vent and Mike was unable to hear much beyond banging and 'Pop Goes the Weasel'. For a moment he stood there staring, and then the music started to fall out of rhythm. Whatever fight was continuing, it was a rough one, and Mike's mind was racing. He had to do something quick.

There was then moment of sobriety. A moment where he wondered if he had been all wrong about Chance. Perhaps Chance had merely been researching about the animatronics. Maybe those noises in the center room we're real children, but more audio lures to keep the animatronics in check. Maybe Paragraph Four's subduing of the animatronics at six was just a way to stop the animatronics with noise so that Mike himself could escape the building. Maybe he had been wrong the entire time.

Under any other circumstances, this train of thought would've been inappropriate. Yet not now; not after Marionette was dragged away and not after Springtrap and Baby were so close to coming in. Mike knew what this was leading to and rushed to the computer, which had stopped printing but hadn't stopped the animatronics' attack. He grabbed the HandUnit and tapped until he got where he wanted. His finger hovered over the screen, over the single button in question, and he went for it. Mike activated Paragraph Four early.

The computer gave a whirring noise of response, the HandUnit loaded, and then a single noise pierced through the vents. It was crisp enough that all the animatronics could hear it and almost instantaneously all went silent. Even Springtrap and Ennard went still. They all heard it and Mike, with growing horror, recognized what it was.

It was the sound of security doors opening.

"Oh… Oh no." Mike suddenly realized what Paragraph Four did and the dread returned. He had just opened the security doors and if he was wrong about the audio, then that meant he could've just doomed the lives of a group of children. He looked over just in time to watch as Springtrap tugged back into the vent. Ennard followed him, either drawn by the noise or still in pursuit of Springtrap. Mike hurried to the other vent and called through, "Marionette!" He didn't receive a response.

Baby had her claw at Marionette's throat and Marionette had his hands dug into her eyes, all while Foxy was trying to yank them apart. Then the sound of the opening doors had suddenly struck them. All of them went silent, staring at each other with baited breaths, and waited for the first to react. The first turned out to be Baby, who released Marionette, shoved Foxy, and then turned for the vent to make a mad dash to the security door. Foxy rushed her and grabbed her around the legs. Neither was faster than Marionette whose mind went straight to the doors and the children inside.

In the moment that Foxy briefly pulled Baby back, Marionette slipped by and hurried down the vent. In the next room, on the opposite side of where the other door was, he found the second security door wide open. He vaguely acknowledged it while passing through with Ennard, but only now did it hold importance. He hurried into the open door and into the central room.

The room was larger than the vent rooms but shared the same metal walls and floors. Because it was empty, Marionette quickly identified the source of the noises and was surprised to see that what waited wasn't quite what he expected. Technically, there weren't children in the room, but there was something similar.

A group of small animatronics were huddled in the corner of the room and seemed to have been spooked by the sound of the opening doors. Marionette identified them immediately: a Minireena, a plush looking Bonnie, two small baby doll looking animatronics, and, to his greatest surprise, the Balloon Boy puppet from Hickory Dickory's. They were all here and it was their noises, the giggling and laughing, that they had thought were real children.

Marionette hurried over to them and Balloon Boy was quick to return the gesture, nearly wobbling on his narrow, wooden-looking legs. The Puppet dropped down to hug the short one close to him. He had just assumed that Balloon Boy had moved on with the others and yet now here he was, randomly inside the center of this place, congregated with a group of tiny animatronics. The others were more hesitant as they inched a little closer but seemed to somewhat trust Balloon Boy's judgement in trusting the Puppet.

It was then that Springtrap barged his way into the room. He turned his head and stared down the group threateningly with eyes nearly glowing. Marionette rose from the ground and turned on the rabbit, staring him down, holding his ground, and shielded the child-like animatronics behind him. Maybe it was because they weren't real children, but Springtrap hesitated just long enough for Foxy and Baby to then fumble in. They stared blankly at the small animatronics, even as Ennard inched inside. All of them were equally confused.

"…What the bloody 'ell are they doin' here?" Foxy asked bluntly as he stared at the small animatronics. Nobody answered him. Largely because the only two who would've answered him, Marionette or Ennard, were in no state to answer him. Marionette was staring down Springtrap wearily while Ennard was trembling to himself off to the side; neither felt like chatting. Then there was Baby.

"He brought them here too. He brought us all here for the same reason," Baby explained in a quiet tone. Her voice almost sounded self-satisfied and the others looked to her, including Marionette and Springtrap. "The man who brought us here made this pizzeria for us. We've been so empty, so broken, unable to do what we exist to do… But now we've been brought to this pizzeria, our new home, to accept our gift. All wrapped up and delivered to us, like a birthday gift!" Baby shivered in delight at her own words as the security doors quietly shut. Her voice then turned colder.

"There's no reason to reject such a generous offer. We have a second chance to be as we are meant to, even us who don't deserve it…" She paused long enough to look over her fellow animatronics, then returned to elation. "All that emptiness filled once more! All the warmth on the inside!" Baby was nearly hysterical with delight, though her voice only raised the smallest bit. "The pizzeria, the technician, the children are for us all!"

"That's all nice an' dandy, Baby," Foxy interrupted with a less than thrilled look. "But I don't know if yar too blind or didn't notice it, but there ain't a pizzeria here!" He gestured a hook to the walls. Then he did a double take, staring at the walls, and that comment slowly sink in. His annoyance quickly melted into growing apprehension. His eyepatch raised as his yellow eyes flickered around at the room. "There… There ain't a pizzeria here…"

Somehow, Marionette and the others only now noticed the fact that this large, empty room took up the expanse of what was supposed to be the pizzeria. The Puppet especially started to feel a sense of dread as the small animatronics congregated around his legs. He could feel Balloon Boy clinging to his leg and it made him only more aware of how trapped he felt in this empty room. This empty room that wasn't a pizzeria. It felt just like the Lefty suit; like a large trap.

There was a small clicking followed by a low hissing noise. Foxy's ears twitched and he cocked his head, "Ya hear somethin'?" He looked around to try and locate the hissing noise.

"This isn't a pizzeria… But he said- but all of the supplies…" Baby quietly spoke. She sounded nearly dumbstruck by the revelation. Then she focused on something new just as Foxy had. "What is that smell? That's not… Pizza… Or birthday cake… What is that smell?" It hit Foxy in an instant and he looked to Marionette in alarm. The Puppet looked back with a similar look as they both realized they had made a terrible mistake.

It was Ennard, who was previously trying to disappear in plain sight, who detected the scent next. His eyes widened and his wires all twitched frantically as he realized what it was now wafting in the air.

"That's… T-That's gas!"

And the walls exploded in fire.