Mable: So, yes, this chapter took a needlessly long amount of time. I'm not sure if it's because I'm becoming clingy with these last chapters or if it's the compulsive re-editing that's causing it. XD Now before we begin, I have somewhere to point you first.
Floofy-Hair-Michael (Or Osofan on Fanfiction), who you can find on Tumblr, has made a wonderful animation of a scene from chapter 93. It is amazing! I recommend that you go watch it, because there's a lot of talent that went into it, and that's something worth experiencing! Thank you so much, Osofan!
There's also a new poll if curious. Now onto the chapter! Enjoy!
Can't Go Home Again
Chapter Ninety-Seven
Marionette opened the bathroom door to find Baby staring wordlessly into the mirror. It was already a warning sign to her current state of mind and was only more noticeable when she didn't look over as they stepped into the room. Marionette made sure to stay ahead of Mike and to partially block him off, silently showing that he was off limits, and faced the female animatronic.
"Baby," Marionette said, "we need to speak with you."
"You brought the technician," Baby remarked as she looked at Mike's reflection in the mirror. Her eyes slightly slid over to lock on him, but her body didn't even move. She didn't even turn the slightest bit. "But why? To deal with me?"
"I brought him because he's mine and I like keeping him close," Marionette answered smoothly. "As I said, we need to talk about some things. Mostly about this new situation we find ourselves in."
"Did you have this talk with Ennard?" Baby inquired. "If anyone here should be guarded around a party then it should be him. He can't handle himself." Her voice portrayed her anger rather clearly. Not towards the Puppet, but towards the clown, but even that was toned down to a mere simmer. Baby just sounded so much more lifeless. Even when she seemed to already know that they were worried about the birthday party.
"Your animosity for Ennard aside," Marionette discarded, "neither of you will be able to stay for the party. I know you don't understand it, but we can't let you risk any children-."
"I do understand." The room went quiet after that interruption. With a nudge of her foot, Baby glided on her wheels to turn herself towards the two. Her green eyes fell on Mike once more. "I need to speak with the technician. Alone."
Marionette was just about to shut down the request when Mike interrupted his chance. "I'm not much of a technician. If you're injured and need a real technician then you'll need to talk to Fritz," Mike said. He stayed as cool and collected as could be, and it helped Marionette regain his compositor once more.
"Then I must see Fritz," Baby insisted. "I'm broken."
Marionette's head snapped to Baby again and he stared her down. That wording was almost too similar to Ennard's own. It was almost as though he was having déjà vu and he knew it wasn't just a coincidence. He considered the delicate situation as he turned fully towards her again.
"If you were injured last night then you should've said something. We may have our differences, Baby, but I have no intention of letting you suffer," Marionette said. His voice softened in an attempt to comfort her, just in case it was a similar situation to the rather defeated Ennard. Baby's eyes drifted over to Marionette.
"It's not that kind of broken," Baby bluntly stated. This was followed with an uneasy silence that was eventually halted by Marionette's mimic of a sigh.
"Very well, Baby. We'll bring him in but be easy on him. He's more skittish than this one." Marionette gestured to Mike, hooked an arm around him, and guided him out of the bathroom in front of him. Once in the hallway, with the door shut between them and Baby, Marionette took Mike's wrist again and guided him into the dining room. Fritz was still sitting there trying to pull himself together after all the surprising information. The Puppet was hesitant as he explained the situation to the technician. "Baby wants to speak to you. She believes she is broken."
Fritz looked confused at the comment and glanced towards the hallway. "…I mean, I haven't seen Baby, but chances are she's not in perfect condition…"
"I'm not exactly sure what she means by 'broken'," Marionette specified and made quotations with his free hand to punctuate it. "Her body is in a rough state, but she clarified that it wasn't that kind of broken."
"…Okay," Fritz said. He blinked, looked at Marionette's hand clutching Mike, and exhaled shakily. "But… I suppose if I ask her there's a good chance of her telling me for herself… So, I'll just go do that." He stood from the table sluggishly. "I don't have my taser on me."
"We'll be outside the door. If Baby gets aggressive then signal me and I'll rush in to stop her. Baby is dangerous but she's not that foolish… Naïve, perhaps, by not foolish," Marionette reassured. This didn't really make Fritz feel better, but he took it as his only lifeline and headed over to the hallway. He swallowed thickly as he approached the bathroom door and only hesitated a moment before heading through.
Baby hadn't moved since they had left, though Fritz wouldn't have been able to tell. He shut the door behind him and kept his arm twisted behind him so that he could hold onto the door handle. He wetted his lips and leveled his voice. "I'm the technician."
"I need your help," Baby introduced. "I'm sure the Puppet told you, but I am broken." Looking over her showed plenty of things that could be 'broken', but what was bothering her the most was unknown.
"Well, that's what I'm here for. I wouldn't be a technician if I didn't fix things that were broken," Fritz answered with a shaky smile. He was clearly uncomfortable with the situation and only pressed on out of a lack of a choice. They had to get Baby out of the pizzeria and if that meant agreeing to fix her then so be it. "So… What's bothering you the most? Just point me in a direction."
"I can't point to it. It's inside of me. Too deep for me to reach. I need it taken out, but I can't take it out on my own," Baby said with the same flatness. "Did the Puppet tell you… What I was created to do?"
"Not exactly, no. I just assumed to perform. That's what animatronics usually do- basic programming and things like that," Fritz prattled on. This was, of course, an understatement. Fritz knew vaguely of Baby's programming because he had seen the results of some of the Funtime's own. Mike had told him about the blueprints and he was aware of Afton's ability to hide things in coding. If William Afton was anything then it was an impressive programmer, but that was a terrible thing to admit considering what he programmed.
"I'm sure you've seen what Ennard was programmed to do. You've seen how… Uncontrollable he is. He really is the sum of his parts." Baby's voice took on a bitter tone once more, but she must've noticed it herself as she suddenly corrected it. "But Ennard is not the problem. Ennard will never be safe enough to be around… Children… Even if he pretends that he is safe. That is fine, because he doesn't care. Ennard is content wandering around and living an empty sort of existence… But I was created to do something."
"Uh huh," Fritz nodded. "And that is…?" He wasn't sure that he wanted to know.
"To sing, to dance, to smile," Baby began. "To entertain children and pass out cupcakes. To make ice cream and to make sure they're happy. To count and watch, to learn, to play music, to wait and listen for them. To be full." She gave a shudder and her claw clamped down. "To open up and to bring them inside. To sing louder than they scream. To wait until it's all quiet…" Fritz started to feel ill as his heart pounded at the thought. "And to do it again, and again, and again."
There was a somber moment where the two quietly stood there. Fritz considered saying something and yet couldn't concoct a question that he wanted answered. He resisted the urge to walk back out, reminding himself that he needed to get her calm, subdued, and out of the pizzeria.
"It's all I ever wanted. I wanted that pizzeria, those children, all of that so much that he promised but didn't give…" Baby paused once more as her eager voice started to drop. "…But then I wonder… Why do I want this so much? I must have it. I can't live with anything less… But why?" Her claw loosened again and released its previously tight clamping. "Because someone put it inside me. Someone made me like this."
"You and Ennard aren't like normal animatronics," Fritz revealed without really thinking. She didn't seem too surprised by it, so he continued. "You weren't made to perform like Freddy or Chica. Or you were, but not just to make children happy."
"I'm not ashamed of what I am. The pleasure of doing what I was made to made up for what I was doing…" Baby's voice grew colder once more. "As long as it is what I want to do. What if all of me is broken? All of this is taken out of my control, so that someone else may control my movements? Then I never escaped their cage. Then I am still being controlled… I will not have my own body stolen from me." That last comment was spat with pure anger. She was infuriated at the thought that what she wanted was merely a result of programming.
"You need to take this out of me. Only then will I be free to choose what I want," Baby demanded. "You must take out the programming."
"I can't… I can do that, but it's not-… That's not the sort of thing I can do quickly," Fritz tried to explain desperately. "I couldn't just remove programming and leave all that empty space. I would have to replace the programming with something else, and while I can do that too it's… It's a big job." He looked over her frame. "It would take just as much work on the inside as the outside."
"I don't think you really understand…" Baby slowly began. "This is not a choice. You don't get to say yes or no. You either do it and make me whole… Or you can expect me to stay for the party." Fritz knew that was a threat, but also knew that it was true. "I've only been to one real party before. It was wonderful… For most of it. I want to stay so much… That I almost can't stand it." It was obvious what she was saying; either he agreed to reprogram her, or she would put up a fight.
"Okay, okay, I… I can try, okay?" Fritz agreed. "…But I can't do it here. I have a warehouse out-." He pointed a thumb back somewhere- which was obviously not the real direction of the warehouse- but was abruptly cut off by Baby.
"I won't sit and wait in a warehouse. I won't sit there for hours, days, waiting for you to eventually figure out how to reprogram me," Baby firmly stated. "I've waited long enough."
"This is a big job, Baby. This isn't something I can do on the bathroom floor," Fritz defended. He was starting to regain more of a nerve, seeing that Baby clearly needed his assistance and would be less likely to lash out because of it. He didn't dare step any closer though. "The best I can do is to shut you off, fully off, and try to reprogram you while you're offline. You would be off, so any time wouldn't matter to you. That's the only way that I can do this 'quick'." He then fell silent and waited for a response.
From the way her claw and hand tightened, it didn't seem like she would willingly allow herself to be shut off. Her eyes seemed to tremble, perhaps in anger, but then they flickered away to the mirror, and then down at the floor. As Fritz watched, Baby went through an entire conversation with herself. Finally, her eyes snapped back to him and her body went still.
"And you're the only technician?" Baby inquired.
"I'm the only technician still here whose been working with the programming type inside of you," Fritz stated as he held his ground. "Are there better technicians? Sure, yeah, but they won't know about how to rewrite the 'Freddy' code. That'll just be more wasted time for them to learn all the beats."
"…Fine," Baby agreed. "They want to send me away like him anyway. Why not allow myself to be rendered scrap?"
"Nothing will happen to your body, I promise. I'm not going to do anything except replace that programming." Perhaps replacing said programming could even make Baby less aggressive. Taking out the need to hurt and the desire to main could make Baby a brand-new person, so Fritz was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. It would certainly be safer for them all.
"You could be lying to me right now. You could be planning on taking me apart as soon as you shut me down," Baby accused. "…But I have no choice." A solemn, somberness returned to her voice at the thought. "Because I won't become like them. They gave into their programming and it started making decisions for them, until they didn't even have a voice to speak with any longer. No, I rather die than become like Ennard."
That really was the final word about it. Fritz wouldn't argue with her or defend Ennard, so he instead gave a silent nod and opened the bathroom door to step out. Marionette was waiting with a hand against the door as he was obviously listening in. As the technician stepped out, Marionette turned and passed Mike to stare at the hallway wall. Being that he was lost in thought, Fritz looked to Mike who was just as ready to speak.
"So, what went down in there?" Mike inquired. He couldn't hear as much as Marionette could've, so he needed Fritz to translate what couldn't be heard. Baby usually did speak softly.
"I got the impression that she didn't like Ennard," Fritz remarked sarcastically, "and how I wish that would've been the topic of the conversation." He rubbed his hands together as he built up to the conversation at hand. "Baby wants me to shut her down and replace all of her- all of William's programming with something else."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Mike questioned. "I'll go as far as saying that's a great thing. Anything of Afton's that we can fix is another threat off the street. Especially if it doesn't involve us setting everyone on fire." Fritz stared at that comment, then sighed and shook his head.
"But it's just not that simple. I don't even know if it will work!" he exclaimed. He and Mike paused for a moment, then Fritz returned with another deep inhale and exhale. "But yeah. I can try. If it works, great. I'll do the same for Ennard. If it doesn't then at least we tried something more than shoving her off to the warehouse. I rather we not follow any of Henry and William's examples."
"I second the hell out of that," Mike agreed. "I don't even like Baby, but I'm not taking Chance's example if I don't have to. So, how exactly are you planning on doing this?" Fritz began to explain his basic method of programming, or what he intended to do, and Mike started listening when Marionette brushed past him. His hand tapped his arm, signaling his attention briefly, and then he entered the bathroom. While the security guard didn't follow, he kept an ear listening and made sure to watch for any indication that the Puppet was in distress.
Marionette slipped into the bathroom and immediately into Baby's line of sight. There was a pregnant pause between them before the Puppet took the initiative. "Fritz said what you were preparing to do…" He wasn't exactly sure how to approach this. "…It is a very honorable decision."
"Oh. You think I'm doing it for you," Baby flatly remarked. "I'm not. I'm doing this for myself."
"No, I'm glad," Marionette insisted. "I want you to do this for you." This led to another pause. He flexed his hands, considering where he would go next, and finally came to a question. "Can I be with you when he turns you off?"
"It depends on why you would want to be there. If it is because of a misguided attempt to comfort me, I'm afraid you're mistake," Baby rejected. "But if it's to make sure that I am fully shut down, then you are welcome to watch. I have no reason to pretend to be shut off and then stay awake in secret as your technician works." She turned back to the mirror again, "And I don't want pity."
"I have my own reasons, but they aren't pity," Marionette answered vaguely. "…But I am curious about your reasons. Back at the pizzeria you made it clear-."
"They didn't turn on me until we came together…" Baby interrupted. Marionette fell silent and watched his sister stare at her own reflection distantly. It took him a little longer to realize who she was talking about. "They couldn't have gotten as far as they did without my guidance. They were all so aimless. They needed me. They wouldn't have gotten out of that cold place without me, and then what did they do?" A low hiss trailed on her voice. "They abandoned me."
The concrete was cold and unforgiving. In one fluid motion the tangle of wires was dropped out of the body, along with the smallest amount of endoskeleton that they would allow. Green eyes were barely connected and as one stared off into darkness the other stared upwards at the body they were once a part of. Now just a mound of wires laying limp on the ground, Baby had sunk to her lowest point. Her body had been stolen.
Above her they stood, trying to fix their own body and brace themselves without the wires that Baby herself provided. It tilted back its head and crackled at her misfortune. It was clear that Funtime Freddy had taken control of the body now, and he gladly giggled in sadistic delight.
"Say goodbye to our friend!" Funtime Freddy chortled. Then, before even allowing Baby to answer, they drew back on wobbly legs. They turned their back on her and started off in the body that she helped create, all while she stared after them with a single, glowing eye. Her shock returned to anger as her apathy towards them turned to anger.
"…I can put myself back together."
"And I did," Baby revealed to Marionette. "You see, that shell down inside of Afton's, the one I left to join with them, was only one body. The one I'm in now was one of my older ones… Back when I still had a pizzeria. I made it work, and I did that to show them their terrible mistake… But they were gone."
She made sure she was the first thing they would see when entering the Funtime Auditorium. After so much waiting and preparation, Baby would finally be rewarded for her efforts, and she readied her new claw. It could shred through wires, and she was very prepared to do so. The plan was foolproof; carve out Freddy, separate Ballora and Foxy, and then scatter the remains where they couldn't find one another. No longer would they be able to use the body that she helped give them.
The conjoined bodies started to exit the vent when their eyes landed on Baby. Those same blue eyes focused in on her as Baby stood her ground.
"Hello," Baby greeted. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? I thought by now that you would've pulled yourself together, but I see I was wrong…" She looked over the twitching wires with disgust. They were a tattered mess. "Did you miss me?" The body stared back, still just as vacantly. "What's wrong? Have you lost your tongue? Or has that too broken?"
The body slid the rest of the way out of the vent and raised to full height. There seemed to be something hesitant and confused in its movements, which made Baby wonder if they truly had broken themselves even more. They looked similar enough, though some of their wires were replenished, meaning that they probably raided one of the old bodies. As though she couldn't be anymore repulsed by the looming figure in front of her. It took a step towards her, but then stopped, keeping the distance between them.
And then it spoke. "…Yoou're Circ-s Baby? Where werre yo-ou? Body's empty…" But it was a voice that Baby did not recognize. She recoiled back at hearing the garbled audio and tried to figure out what was currently piloting the body in front of her.
"…You don't remember me?" Baby inquired. Her voice grew bitter, "Perhaps Funtime Freddy would like to remind you all. He seemed so content being the leader, willing to cut out your any chance of survival, so let him speak." The body of wires continued to stare at her. Its eyes them moved away almost nervously and landed on the remains of Funtime Freddy lying on the stage; as though it expected the body to suddenly get up and narrate. Baby was beginning to lose her patience. "Stop playing dumb with me."
"…Doesn't speak a-anymoore," the unfamiliar voice answered.
"What is that supposed to mean? What do you mean he doesn't speak anymore?" Baby asked with growing annoyance. "I taught you how to pretend. You couldn't do it without me and you still can't. Do you take me for a fool?" She started to move in, gently gliding across the floor, and the body started to shirk back. "Say something."
"Th-They stopped sp-king…" the amalgam insisted. It looked back with the dimmest of recognition, and while it was growing warier of her, she was surprised that it would continue feigning ignorance. It was unlike them. "It's juust me."
In that instant, Baby realized that the thing in front of her wasn't pretending. It had little idea who she was. Whatever was in control of the body now was not one of her former allies. It was something new.
For a moment, but only for a moment, Baby was terrified.
"It is maddening sometimes… They never got to see their mistake before he took over," Baby vented. "…But they aren't my problem any longer. My problem is that my body is again being threatened. I can't afford to have another person strip me of my body, so I need this defect taken out… Anything left behind from when we were together must be dealt with." She slightly turned her head to look towards Marionette. "So, I will do what they did. I will take out the part that guides me… And maybe I will become something new."
Marionette had no response to that. Even if he did, it was cut short by the bathroom door opening. Fritz walked in on the two, carrying a tarp, and whistling a tune to distract himself. Neither Baby nor Marionette found it appropriate to say anything more, so Fritz covered Baby and attempted to guide her out. Baby rolled out willingly but didn't seem very happy with letting Fritz touch her. She didn't want to be touched while willingly planned on letting him adjust her programming; it was a bit peculiar.
Mike watched from the back door as Fritz got Baby into the back of the van. He kept an eye out for anyone possibly passing by up until the back doors shut. Then he just waited. Inside the van, Baby slumped against the wall and impatiently awaited her fate as Fritz checked over her wiring around her neck and shoulders. Marionette was knelt near the doors and silently watched. He wasn't sure what he anticipated out of all of this, but he was waiting for whatever it was to happen.
"Alright, I think I found the main connection through the neck," Fritz alerted as he slipped his fingers through her wires. Her eyes slid over to look at him and watched as he gripped the connection in question. "It shouldn't even hurt. I'm just going to pull this and then it'll go dark for a few-."
"I've been shut down before," Baby interrupted. That stopped Fritz's explanation dead in its tracks. Flustered, he cleared his throat and prepared himself.
"Okay, so… Three… Two…" In that last second of Fritz's counting, Baby's glowing eyes flickered back to Marionette. For an instant he considered reaching out for her nearby claw but didn't have the opportunity to make that choice. "One." With a single tug and a light click, Baby was abruptly shut down. Her eyes dimmed, and her head slumped while fans whirring in her chest, which had been a constant and were thus not noticed, suddenly went completely silent. Everything had just suddenly stopped.
Yet if plugged back in, Baby would rouse just as she had. She wasn't dead or hadn't moved on, she was just almost in a state of hibernation. Marionette had to remind himself that to hold back the wave of finality that threatened to hit him. It was all temporary, he remembered. He wasn't even fully certain why he was so concerned considering Baby's caustic behavior, but he couldn't help but take relief in the reversibility.
"Well, that's it," Fritz murmured to the Puppet. "I'll take her to the warehouse after the party and… I guess we'll start working on the programming from there." Marionette nodded stiffly, and Fritz noticed how tired he looked. "…You know, you could just stay in here if you needed some time alone… Sort of alone. We can handle the party if you need to rest," the technician said.
"I'll be fine," Marionette answered. He raised his hand, tempted to touch Baby, and then tentatively reached out to touch her arm for a moment. It was very slight, and he removed his hand almost immediately afterwards, as he knew Baby wouldn't have appreciated him touching her while she wasn't activated. "I'm heading back in to prepare for the party. Thank you for doing all of this.
"No problem," Fritz answered. The Puppet was gone in a heartbeat and reappeared inside the hallway. Mike shut the back door to a crack and turned to face him.
"It's done. Baby is sleeping now," Marionette said quietly. He was determined not to worry about her; getting her programming fixed was the only way that Baby could have a future outside of being locked away. He then reached out to take Mike's hand once more. "Come along. We should finish preparations while we still have time."
"I don't know. Are you sure we have enough time to throw a pizza in the over, wrap a toy, and make sure Foxy doesn't reek of chocolate?" Mike sarcastically quipped. The desire to ask if the Puppet was okay was there, but he decided that it would be better to follow Marionette's earlier suggestion to lighten the mood. "Foxy forbid the fridge is empty and I have to make a soda run halfway through."
"We'll just mix icing and water together and call it Party Punch," Marionette quipped back with a light chime. "It'll still be the same amount of sugar." Mike had no reason to disagree.
The party was the normal fare. Though anything felt abnormal after the night before. There were less than ten kids and the birthday boy had his eyes only on Foxy, so the party itself was a rather simple one. Both Foxy and Marionette seemed to be doing perfectly fine considering the circumstances. There were a few hiccups; Foxy occasionally gave a twitch when the children got too rowdy and Marionette seemed to circle around more than usual. Mike himself was struggling to stay awake as he kept an eye out on the party.
Tabby and Jeremy had both returned in time to attend to the party and Natalie arrived, so Mike didn't have much else to do other than stand guard. Considering the night before, Mike did feel the need to stay on guard, and kept a constant watch on the front door. By time Jeremy brought out the cake, Mike started to relax a bit more. If the cops were going to get back to them then they would've probably found them before noontime. Perhaps they really had skirted by before they were spotted.
Gifts came after cake and only then was Mike roused out of his distracted state. Marionette approached him and discreetly brushed his arm, signaling that he wanted his attention. He then started to the Prize Corner to get the gift that they were providing but was moving slow on his track. Mike stood from his chair and followed him, but It was only while walking to the Prize Corner that Mike had an epiphany.
"He doesn't want to be alone." It was a depressing revelation.
Marionette grabbed the gift off the counter and went to pass by again when Mike stopped him. "Hey," Mike began. He wrapped an arm around the slender animatronic and pulled him into a hug. "You're doing great," he reassured. Marionette gave a low warble and tilted his head to nuzzle his mask against the human appreciatively. It was a brief moment, but it was one that he needed.
They returned to the party feeling slightly better. The gift, one of new Foxy plushes that had yet to reach the shelves, was unwrapped and enjoyed. Games were played, Foxy sung a shortened version of 'Let's Eat', and the party eventually started to wind down. As easy as it had been, there was still a relief in having the chaperones usher the children back out of the pizzeria and into their vehicles. Even with Saturday beginning so hectically, the first of what could be many more Saturday scheduled private parties went well.
"One wild day, eh?" Foxy asked as he sat down on the edge of the stage. He looked out at the pizzeria with a tired exhale. "Feels good bein' back to work so soon." Marionette agreed with a nod and sat alongside him. He was unconcerned with Tabby seeing them now that he knew she didn't care. He wasn't sure how someone could be so relaxed about it, but he was willing to accept it. Especially when she was still in the kitchen. Fritz and Natalie were cleaning up the table while the two watched.
"How'd it go with Baby?" Foxy asked lowly. "I heard all of ya talkin' about the reprogrammin'. Is she off now?" Marionette nodded once again. "Good. Baby'll need a lotta fixin' before she's up to snuff."
It was at this time when Marionette reflected on what Mike had told him that morning about Springtrap. It hit him suddenly and he knew that his window of opportunity was small. As soon as Jeremy came back from wherever he was, possibly the kitchen, Foxy would be dead to the world. He had a conversation he was looking forward to, which Marionette didn't want to interrupt. This was his only time to mention his suspicions.
"Mike told me something peculiar earlier. He said Golden Bonnie spoke to him and said he wasn't the murderer. Or something along those lines," Marionette revealed. Foxy looked over slowly. "I find it odd that he would deny it now of all times. I wasn't especially close with him, but I never expected the Purple Man of all people to deny crimes that he was so invested in."
"…He woulda never denied it," Foxy murmured. "…But it has to be! Both of us saw that thing in that Spring Suit. It be drippin' purple, and even then it be the spittin' image of Afton. Who'd else be runnin' around, breakin' bots in the middle of the night?" Yet while he asked this, Foxy started to question his own words, and crossed his arms on his chest. "Is odd is all."
"It's very odd, but that purple aura- We saw plenty of night guards with that same aura… But you're the one who could've saw it better. I couldn't have recognized him from anyone else at that time." It was a shame that Marionette couldn't trust his own eyes, but he wasn't willing to do so when his vision had been so distorted. "If you're certain then I'm content with your judgement. He could've very well just lied."
"But the murders all stopped!" Foxy denied, ignoring Marionette's last comment. He uncrossed his arms so he could rest a hand and hook on his knees. "What would some guy- who looked just like Dad- be doin' in Freddy's? It's too coincidental! Couldn't be Henry, wasn't Scott, prob'ly be Dad. Looked just like him!" He sounded so determined and Marionette crossed his own arms in thought, mimicking Foxy's earlier pose.
"It could've been Michael."
The comment was so sudden that it took Marionette fully off guard. His head snapped over to look at Foxy. "Excuse me?"
"It could've been Michael. He looked a lot like Dad did, just not as heavy around the middle," Foxy revealed to his younger brother. Suddenly his sure defense that Springtrap was William devolved as this new thought came to light. "…Ya know, I always found it strange that Michael never came back. Ya'd think that he'd come lookin' fer his slice of the pie. Or would've come when ARI went back on the market. It doesn't make sense that he just never came back…" Foxy twitched lightly with growing concern, "…Could've been him."
"… Would he have returned to Freddy's just to try to destroy us?" Marionette quietly inquired.
"Maybe if Dad asked him. Him and Dad were always fightin'… But he woulda done somethin' if Dad really asked him to…" Foxy turned to his sibling and dismissively shook his head. "Now I ain't sayin' Dad's alive. I think if Dad was kickin' he'd show his face 'round here. Scott was sure of it, an' we both know he and Dad were hooked at the hip."
"Scott… That's it!" Marionette rose from the stage and stood beside Foxy. He looked to the animatronic with a revitalized energy. "Scott would know! He was so certain that Afton was gone that he must know something about it. He was also very aware of Michael's existence even when I wasn't." He hummed as he looked to the front door thoughtfully. "I wish I would've known before he left."
"Aye, if anyone would know it would be ol' Scott. Prob'ly knows right where Dad's buried even as we speak…" Foxy stood from the stage with a flair of determination. "Go call him and get him back over here! We figure this out now!" Foxy turned to point off towards the kitchen, to the phone, when he noticed Jeremy now standing alongside Mike. Yellow eyes suddenly became fixated on the young man. It didn't take Marionette long to notice it and he feigned an exhale.
"And I lost you. I should be surprised but I'm not," Marionette quipped with slight amusement and slight exasperation. Here Foxy was, getting him all riled about their older brother being Springtrap, and now he had lapsed back into a fixation on the other security guard. "I'll go see Scott myself. It'll be quicker anyway."
Marionette started to head off towards Mike when Foxy caught his arm with his hook. He yanked the Puppet back and lowered his voice into a desperate whine.
"I don't think I can do this…" Foxy admitted. His ears pulled back as an unusual meekness started to settle in. "It ain't gonna work. I oughta just quit while I'm ahead." Marionette considered this for a moment, then turned towards his older brother.
"You'll regret it if you don't. I'd prefer not to bring up last night… But would you have been happy knowing that you never tried?" Marionette gently inquired. He didn't want to push too hard as he knew the risks, but he also didn't want Foxy to hold back solely out of fear. It didn't seem fair, especially considering how much Foxy had held out on out of the principle of, 'I'm an animatronic, so I can't'. "What's the worst that can happen? Jeremy be flustered and awkward for a little while? I think he does that plenty without any conversations needed."
"…Get Mike out of the way," Foxy said. There was the finality; he had to do this and there was no turning back once he did. He would just have to go with it and hope that it all fell into his favor.
Marionette patted his arm reassuringly and headed over to the two humans in question. Foxy wasn't paying attention to what he said to them, but by him taking Mike's arm and pointing to the Prize Corner it seemed like he was asking to speak with him. The security guard agreed and the two headed off together. This left Jeremy alone, and as Fritz and Natalie moved into the hallway, it seemed like this was Foxy's opening to approach.
Or it would've been, if not for Jeremy approaching him first. The young man fixed his glasses as he approached, giving him a few moments where he did not have to make eye contact. Then he looked to Foxy with a friendly smile. "So, I got them all home. It's going to be pretty cramped from now on. I, uh… I might have to spend more nights over here!" Foxy reacted by staring blankly. "…Foxy?"
"Eh? Sorry. Yer Captain be a lil…" Foxy trailed off for almost five full seconds. "…Out 'o sorts. Don't worry 'bout it."
"You have to be tired," Jeremy sympathized. He reached out and laid his hand on Foxy's arm. If anything, all it did was succeed in causing the fox to stiffen up and go silent once more. "After that night in Hickory's I was exhausted, and there wasn't even a fire there! How about you get some rest?"
"Maybe…" Foxy reached out for Jeremy's arm. "…But we got somethin' to do first." He then started back across the dining hall, guiding Jeremy with him towards the safety of his purple curtain. He stepped up onto the stage and easily tugged Jeremy up after him before guiding him behind the curtains. Jeremy stepped in first and stared at the small space and wall, then turned around to face Foxy in confusion.
As soon as Jeremy faced Foxy again, he was caught. Foxy's hand caught his cheek while his hook rested on his shoulder. The fox tugged him in just a bit, just until they were nearly closer than ever, and both transfixed. Jeremy could only stare back, blue meeting gold, and waited for an explanation.
"Something changed last night," Foxy admitted. He fully fell out of character and, unlike usual, seemed to barely care. "I've died before. I've almost died dozens of times. Last night shouldn't have been anything, but all I could think about was all the things I could've done and didn't do. All this that I've been keeping from myself because I feel less than human…" His fingertips grazed Jeremy's hair as the blond felt the heat spread across his face. "But I'm not less than human, Jeremy, and I'm tired of pretending that I don't feel it."
"I know that. That's what I've been telling you," Jeremy quietly insisted. "I don't think of you as less than human. I- I just think of you as you."
"But there's a lot of people out there who don't. Chance wouldn't even let me defend myself last night, because to him I wasn't anything less than a haunted bot stumbling around some vents," Foxy revealed. His voice started to lower. "But never with you. You've always treated me good, Jeremy. You're more than my first mate; you're my best friend..." His hand lightly tightened, showing how nervous he was. He was seldom nervous, and Jeremy picked up on it immediately. "And I'm not going to hide from you anymore… Even if it pushes you away."
Jeremy's heart was pounding, and he was nearly trembling. All of this certainly sounded like a confession, but he wasn't sure what kind it was. Either way, he wanted to hear it. He had been waiting too long to not.
"Y-You know that whatever you say I'd never think less of you, right?" Jeremy quietly coaxed. "I care about you. More than you know, you know? I… If I had known anything about last night… And I saw the fire on the news. You- You really could've died! You could've been burned to a crisp and I would've… Just slept through it…" He tentatively reached up to grab Foxy's forearm and lightly petted over it. Foxy gave a light twitch that was then followed by a small chuckle.
"Always worried about your Captain, eh? At least one of us is," Foxy said. He traced his thumb over his soft skin. "You're a good first mate, Jeremy… And if I was all human then I would've gotten closer a long time ago…" He then leaned in and pulled Jeremy against his chest. He could hear Jeremy's breath hitch and his heartbeat quicken even more as he nuzzled affectionately into his shoulder. It felt like he was overstepping his boundaries, but Jeremy wasn't stopping him, and so he continued to hold the smaller to him. "I want to be closer.
"I- I don't know how much closer we could get," Jeremy squeaked out. It was a bad attempt at a joke perhaps, but it was also an attempt to coax the rest of it out. He wanted and needed the clarification that only Foxy could give.
"Guess it all depends on how much me not being all human bothers you," Foxy murmured, "because I'm not letting it get between us anymore."
"It doesn't bother me at all, Foxy! Y-You know that. You're more 'human' than a lot of humans I know…" Jeremy's hand tightened on Foxy's arm as the other reached up to rest on the back of his neck, to make sure that Foxy wouldn't draw away. "I… I love you," he quietly murmured. Foxy gave a light twitch and his grip briefly tightened.
"…Are you sure?" Foxy asked lowly. The hesitation showed clearly in his voice. It was as though he couldn't believe Jeremy would feel that way, which only made Jeremy more determined to show it.
Silently- Jeremy didn't think he could muster another word- he turned his head towards the pirate's. He pet over the back of Foxy's neck before holding in place and leaning in to kiss the side of his mouth. It was brief and shaky, and Jeremy was more worried that he would do something wrong than of Foxy's sharp teeth. To Jeremy's amusement, Foxy still smelled of chocolate, and he had a good idea why. A low whirring rumbled in Foxy's chest and Jeremy gave a nervous laugh as he waited for a full reaction.
"You're really something, Lad," Foxy purred as he lightly nipped at his collar. He was satisfied with Jeremy's breath hitching. "Never got how Marion could just shrug it all off and get so attached to a human when he wasn't one anymore… I think I'm starting to get it now." He chuckled deeply and slipped back into his role as captain. "So, whaddya say, Lad? Ya willin' to throw caution to the wind and sail into uncharted waters?"
"You… You mean like a relationship?" His heart was pounding so quickly that it almost felt like it would explode. It was heavy and quick, eagerly pulsing in excitement, and nearly too much to handle. Jeremy smiled as he gave his answer, "I'd follow you anywhere Captain."
"To be honest…" Foxy's voice lowered once more into a playful whisper. "I think I'd rather we just stayed here…" He tilted his head against Jeremy's and held him securely. "And I love you too."
Whatever was going on outside the curtain was unimportant. The pizzeria, the fire, Chance, Springtrap; none of it mattered.
Gabriel was done telling himself it was wrong, because everything in these moments- holding him close, feeling Jeremy again turn to kiss his crimson fabric- felt too right.
Meanwhile in the Prize Corner, Marionette was wrapping up with, "And, long story short, Scott will be the best chance we have at identifying which one it is."
"That would be an amazing coincidence, since Chance was accusing me of being him right when he popped up," Mike murmured. Marionette had just finished up explaining his and Foxy's suspicions about who was in the Spring Bonnie suit. "But that would make sense to why Golden Bonnie came over. I mean, if someone like Chance was going on about me, I'd probably go over to see what's up. Not sure if I'd slam a vent over the back of his head, but different strokes." He folded his arms over his chest. "You're going over there alone?"
"I'll be quick. I don't intend to stay much longer after asking him what he knows, and if there's too many of us then he's liable to go quiet," Marionette explained. In contrast to what Mike expected, the Puppet seemed to be rather relaxed about the situation. His tone was of someone going to confront Scott about what kind of cake he preferred. Not like someone who was asking whether his father was inside of an animatronic rabbit suit or not. He seemed fully unbothered by the risk, or perhaps compared to the night before it didn't feel like much.
Though to be fair, compared to the night before it wasn't much.
"I don't particularly want the rest of our day to be dominated by this though," Marionette remarked as he leaned back on the edge of his box. He crossed his legs comfortably as his fingers drummed against the colored cardboard. "So, I was hoping that when I got back we could maybe head home for the day. Or, better yet, if you would like to head home now then I could just come straight home, and we'd have the entire evening to pretend that last night never happened." He clasped his hands together with a trill. "Perhaps a movie night!"
"Finally, something that doesn't require me in uniform," Mike quipped with an amused smile. He too started to ease up a bit. "While you're over with the Phone, I'm going to help Fritz drop Baby off at the warehouse, so I can stop at the video store on the way back." He watched as Marionette's smile started to slowly fall.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? That warehouse is becoming quite the paranormal hotspot, and while Baby should be fine deactivated, you and Fritz could be at risk," Marionette reminded.
"Relax. I'm not going inside more than a few feet and we're not staying more than a couple of minutes. Fritz wants to check and see if he can use the HandUnit with the reprogramming first, so we aren't sticking around," Mike explained. Like Marionette with Springtrap's identity, Mike spoke about going to the warehouse as though it was the simplest thing in the world.
The warehouse might've become more haunted since Fritz inherited and much more dangerous, but it still was semi-predictable. It still avoided multiple people and it usually got more aggressive the longer someone was inside. This gave Mike a slight sense of security, but after witnessing the spirit's influence last time, Marionette wasn't as confident.
"Why don't you just wait until I get back and I'll come with you? Two may be safe, but three might be safer," Marionette offered. Mike reflexively shot this idea down. After the night before, he didn't want the Puppet near even the slightest threat or the slightest stress. If it was the only way he could protect him then so be it.
"Don't bother. We're only going to be there a few minutes, so I'll probably be back home before you are. Noticing his hesitance, Mike reached for his shoulder. "We're reckless, not stupid. We'll walk into a giant freezer, dump a clown, and leave. It's going to be great." He leaned in to peck Marionette on the cheek affectionately. "I'll get the movies on the way home. You get the popcorn started."
Marionette trilled lightly at that motion, but it was quieter, showing his hesitation in agreeing. He finally decided to give in and agreed. "I think we both need a few good movies to lose ourselves in…" He smiled wider, "And by 'good movies' I mean hilariously bad ones."
"There's that excellent taste I fell in love with," Mike said, following with a wink. Before he could move back, Marionette caught him in another embrace and pulled him in with a trill.
It almost sounded too good to be true. After a merciless night and a thankfully easier day, they would be returning home. Just letting all of it go for a little fun was already doing wonders for them both. The burning pizzeria was already just becoming a memory. Some things were better left forgotten, and in this case that seemed to be true. By tomorrow it would be a brand-new day.
If only today was over.
Mable: Hmm… Here's a question for everyone. Burning pizzeria or frozen warehouse; which is more dangerous? I'll let you ponder that while I move onto typing the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed!