Mable: All good things must come to an end…

The Broken Circus

Chapter 15: Hearing the Call

Charlie awoke to the lights flicking on unexpectedly and at first buried herself under the thin blanket to block them out. It took a few seconds more for her groggy brain to awaken enough to realize something was going on. At that point she finally sat up, and immediately her hand flew up to rub the side of her neck. Apparently, the stiff neck hadn't gotten any better on the flimsy pillow and rigid cot.

"Did you enjoy yourself last night?"

That woke her up faster than ice water poured down the back of her neck. She jumped and her heart jolted, before she sent an unenthused side-eye at the Handunit sitting on the bedside table.

William was silent, almost smugly so.

"Why didn't you stop me?" she croaked.

"I nearly made the mistake of doing so before I realized that this was in both of our favors… You have a very important task for you today, Charlotte. Wake yourself up, get yourself ready, take all the time you need. I need you alert."

That cryptic comment woke Charlie up the rest of the way, and she got herself out of bed and braced herself for what was coming. The door was open again, so she splashed some water on her face and checked the vent cover- just as loose as it was last night. The plan was still on. She didn't linger much longer, not wanting to tip him off that there might be something of interest in the bathroom.

"Let's just get this over with…" Charlie decided as she returned to the room. She sat down on the bed and picked up the Handunit. "Alright, I'm ready. What do you want this time?"

"I see I am not the only one eager to get started. Or, perhaps, to see the end of this through."

So, this really was the end of it. That couldn't bode well for what was coming. And to think, it had all come to an end so suddenly.

Afton calm demeanor was already starting to make her nervous.

Seeing that she had nothing to say, Afton continued.

"Everything we have done has been building to this moment. Charlotte, do you know what you have been doing?"

"Busy work," Charlie dryly remarked. Afton was silent, and with it she guessed again, "Maintenance?"

"Exactly. On this building. On our systems. We're almost ready for the true opening of this establishment. I have been waiting for this for years, but something is still missing. Do you know what that is, Charlotte? It is… the star."

Charlie suddenly had a sinking feeling at the awe in his tone. She already had a suspicion where this might be going, and Afton failed to disappoint.

"My new model is perfect. Superior to the original Circus Baby in every conceivable way… except for one. It lacks that final piece. The remnant of a lost life, the agony of a restless spirit. It requires a human soul. And you task today, Charlotte, is to give me that soul."

Her throat clenched before she could even consider an answer. Her eyes wide and a sweat breaking along the back of her neck as her heart began to pound. She knew what he was implying, and she trapped entirely at his mercy.

"You're going to kill me," she got out.

"Now, I did not say that. I do not consider this a death but more… a transference of life. Human beings and bodies are fickle, but the soul is invaluable."

Charlie felt like she was about to have a breakdown. She almost wanted to scream but couldn't bear giving him the satisfaction and instead dug her fingers into her pants and knee so hard that it hurt. She was already starting to feel a little lightheaded.

"…But you still have one last key."

"What does that mean?" Charlie asked. Her voice coming out more panicked than she wanted.

"Every task I gave you rewarded you with a key, and this one is no different. One more door can be opened, one more guest can leave. For your last task I am giving you the decision on which one of you stays. I only need one."

"Oh God," Charlie choked.

"With that key you can continue your crusade of martyrdom and the boy will be set loose. In return, you will become something greater than yourself. It is a privilege that not many get. To become one with metal and flesh. A vile, disgusting creature- but fascinating, is it not? Though if you prefer, you may use the key on your own door and return to your mediocre existence. But I know you are destined for more, Charlotte. You and I both know that you are the better candidate. You would make my machine perfect."

"Don't say that!" Charlie lashed out. "How could you- Did- Did you think I was just going to go along with this?!"

"No. I knew you would need to be tested, molded, and now you are perfectly pliable. You may resist, but you know in the end, Charlotte, that the only reason you even got so far as to meet that boy is because I allowed you to. I could at any moment change my mind and take my decision back, take it by force… or simply decide that I could use you both. But you wouldn't leave dear Cody to that fate, would you? You're too good for that. Such a good girl."

Charlie definitely felt like she could be sick now. She was nearly shaking with anger and adrenaline, but she couldn't even say anything. Not when that threat hung above her like an impending noose.

He was right. She was in no position to argue.

"But I am not without mercy. Especially not with a prospective business partner. I am giving you an hour to decide. Take your time, consider the pros and cons. I know you will come to the correct decision."

With nothing more than a small crackle to signal the end of the transmission, Afton left Charlie in silence. Leaving her with nothing more than her own thoughts to console her as she made her decision.

Though Charlie was more than aware that there wasn't a decision.

It didn't matter how much he dolled it up or how grandiose he made it seem; what Afton offered was death. Either for her or for Cody. Or as she greatly suspected, tailored just for her. That this choice was just a way to drag what he wanted out of her. To twist her arm with guilt and responsibility until she laid her own neck out across the chopping block.

She wasn't going to make that choice.

She was getting out of there. Now.

Charlie sprung up from the bed and started to pace in a circle around the room. She hoped if Afton was watching that he would believe she was just thinking, and she was, but she was plotting as well.

"This is it. This is my only chance. If I don't get out now, I'm not getting out. I've only got one shot so I can't blow this," Charlie realized. "Okay, okay, calm down. Both cords, spare bracelet, Handunit- something to unscrew the vent. I should've grabbed something last night from Cody's room, I don't even have a coin! What can I use? There has to be something… My zipper pull?"

She looked down at it. It never looked flimsier than it did right now.

"…Probably not. Okay, I'll have to use the cord. Which means I'm going to have to reset the bracelet frequency in the bathroom and then move quick, because Afton's probably going to know. Get the vent open, get inside, start heading down, and then… Head to the breaker room. Shut off the power, open up Cody's door, find a way back out, get to Cody, get out before Afton resets the breaker. Or if I can't, hide with Cody and hope Sammy brings help. And comes- He'll come. He will come."

So that was the plan. Perhaps as flimsy as her zipper pull but it was all she had. It was try or die.

"It's go time."

Trying to look like she wasn't up to something, Charlie discreetly got her stuff together under the guise of sitting on the bed and fiddle with the Handunit, and then walked out the still open door. Afton had already gotten too overconfident; if that door had simply been left closed then her plan would be sunk. It was simply through his laziness to regularly open the door for her- or to install a closet bathroom like in the kids' room- that he gave her a way out.

She got into the bathroom and walked right to the toilet and knelt in the tight space between it in the vent. Then she turned her attention to the Handunit. She plugged in the bracelet resetting cord into it and watched the familiar menu pop up, then tried to bring up the same menu Ennard had. Even though it wasn't on the default screen, clicking on the corner brought up the options, and she got herself back to the page to input the administrator password. Eight-four-seven-three-seven; she hadn't forgotten.

Then she fitted the unused security bracelet into the slot and reset the receiver frequency to Sammy's, FZ554. With any luck, the moment she switched frequency Sammy should've been able to feel the location of the security bracelet. She could only hope that he would be willing to trust it enough to follow it. She stuck the spare security bracelet into her pocket, keeping it on her without putting it on her. Just in case there came a situation where she needed to hand it off to Cody.

She then unplugged the cord and broke apart the end to unscrew the vent. It felt like it was all moving so slow as she hastily twisted and twisted until each bolt dropped loose. Then she was finally able to pull the cover free and set it aside before crawling into the duct.

This was it. There was no going back.

…

…

…

Sammy hadn't spent so much time sleeping since back when he was a fixture at Freddy's. Back then he was restrained by a music box while lulled him into at best a quiet daze and at worst a prolonged coma. It could be frustrating but on the same hand there had been some bliss to be taken to escape from Freddy's into a perpetual dreamscape. Days and nights slipped by so easily for one with no reason to count either.

That was a long time ago and plenty had changed. Now the last thing Sammy wanted was to slumber away his precious time. He wanted to be awake and alert, observing life and living alongside Charlie and her friends, and Mike. Even if he couldn't be human again, he could still live, and he began to sleep by his decision or by necessity.

Once Charlie was taken sleep became the last thing on his mind. Unfortunately, it had also coincided with his damage, which meant there wasn't much else that he could do except sleep. He fought his own body every step of the way. He couldn't rest until Charlie was home and Afton was back in the grave where he belonged.

It was almost ironic how one night could change things up so quickly. Whether it be the night Charlie was taken or the night where Sammy saw her in his dreams.

Since then, Sammy had been spending most of his time napping. Not out if hopelessness, but out of the hope that he would connect with Charlie in another dream. So far there had been no success, but it was the only chance he could see of him getting a direct line to her.

It was mid-morning now and he was still trying to sleep. He was curled up on Clay's couch like he would've been in his box, a comforter from the guest room tightly wrapped around him, barely blocking out the living room light or the noise from the TV. Not that it bothered him. In fact, if not for Jessica and Carlton sitting in the room with him, he wouldn't have felt nearly so comfortable in letting his guard down.

But the mood was still tense. News of Charlie's situation was both relieving and haunting. It was a heavy weight off their minds knowing that she was alive, imprisoned or not. That meant they could still find her and bring her back. Unfortunately, that didn't bring them any closer to finding her whereabouts.

Another child had been found- a young girl with a nasty fever but otherwise no injuries- and Circus Baby's had been unexpectedly closed for the last two days. No explanation why, nothing suspicious to note, and no sign of Izzy.

It was driving them insane. Especially Jessica, and she knew it was driving John insane too. He had been showing up earlier and earlier to Clay's to ask about Charlie and she was aware he had been driving around asking people if they saw anything, to no progress. She had taken a different tactic and instead stayed planted as close to Sammy as she could at all times, holding out confidence that his dream was the real deal.

Carlton had been sticking around the house a lot more as well, though that was more because he got nervous whenever he left the house alone, for understandable reasons. Though he seemed to be doing a little better over time. Marla and Lamar stopped by as often as they could but usually everything was quiet.

The most excitement they had gotten in days was Mike getting in a shouting match over the phone with his boss, a call he had decided to take in Clay's kitchen. One that resulted from stress and resulted in him walking out with a peeved look and declaring, "Well, I'm fired." As though the colorful words they overheard him yelling from the other room weren't enough of an indication. Needless to say, Mike had been hanging around more often.

Everyone was tense and worried. They were all just waiting for the other shoe to drop. For something to happen.

Then it suddenly did. Not from a sudden announcement on the news or Clay rushing in with information. Not from a phone call or a sighting on the other side of town, or Circus Baby's bursting into flames.

It came from inside. One moment Sammy was laying there trying to sleep and suddenly he was very awake.

He lifted his head from the pillow he was wrapped around and tried to sort out the sudden alarm bells going off in his head. Almost literal ones: programming irrelevant for years suddenly springing to life and signaling him to go somewhere.

He hadn't felt that sensation since that awful bear, but he knew that wasn't it. There had been a subtle difference to Lefty, but at the time he had ignored it and gave into his programming to follow and find the source of the signal. This time he was certain that what he was feeling was as close to a genuine signal as one that had come from those old, unused bracelets.

Something was calling him. Someone was calling him.

Sammy shot upright so quickly that he tangled himself, overcompensated, and fell back off the couch and down in between it and the coffee table. Swallowed up in a nest of blankets.

Carlton jumped and Jessica looked down in surprise.

"Sammy, are you okay?" she asked.

She leaned over to help him only to have the Puppet suddenly shoot up and to his feet in an instant. His pupils were glowing. He was twitchy and antsy. He was making staticky noises akin to panicked breathing.

"Sammy, what is it? Did you see something?" Jessica asked a little more firmly. She stood up and put her hands on his shoulders to try and stabilize him, him still jittering underneath her hands.

"Something. I feel something. Something drawing me. Tugging, pulling- there's a child in danger? No, not- not last time. It can't be," Sammy rambled.

"Feel something?" Jessica questioned. Her face drawing in concern as Mike came in from the hallway, hearing the despite and coming to see what was up. "Do you think it's Charlie?" Jessica asked.

"What's going on?" Mike asked.

"He's feeling something pulling at him," Carlton said, bringing him up to speed.

"Something somewhere pulling at my strings. Luring me in," Sammy clarified.

"Whoa, wait. Like with the bear?" Mike asked.

"Bear?" Jessica questioned.

"It feels the same… but it can't be. The bear is gone. It's something else. Something- bracelet- something pulling my- something on my frequency. Reaching and signaling me. Programming, it's programming," Sammy clarified.

That caught Jessica's attention and her head snapped back around to him. "It could be Charlie! Sammy, she knows all about you. She would know how to trigger that, right?" she pried.

"She knows my… She knows my Security Frequency. She knows about the bear- and the Conibear, how it used it to track me. I… It could be!" Sammy reached up and clasped his hands around Jessica's wrists. "She could be calling me! She could be leading me- us right to where she is!"

"Do you think you could pinpoint where it's coming from?" Mike asked, now reasonably convinced.

"It's pulling me towards it. If I follow it, I'll be led right to it!"

With that, Mike's eyes widened before he silently turned on his heel and strode back into the hall and towards Clay's office.

"We have to go after her," Sammy insisted to Jessica.

"Right," she steadfastly agreed.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a second. What if it's a trap?" Carlton butted in. Jessica and Sammy both looked to him. "Look, I believe Charlie could probably do this, but so could Baby! And so could Psycho the Serial Mascot!"

"…That is a very good point. Truthfully, it could be either one of them. We know at least that Afton may want me. We know that Charlie is trapped in a room, unlikely to have the means to contact me…" Sammy replied quietly. Though his voice turned somber and steadfast, pupils still alit and trembling but otherwise his body rigid with determination. "But even if it is a trap, it may still lead us where we need to go: straight to William Afton himself."

"And to Charlie. You said she was down there," Jessica added.

"…Good point," Carlton agreed.

"But Baby will likely be there," Sammy quietly lamented.

"As much as none of us want to run into Baby, that might be a risk we'll have to take if there's a chance it'll lead us to Charlie."

"…Yes." Sammy's glowing pupils flicked to Jessica before dropping to the floor, his posture faltering. "I should go alone. I… shouldn't risk everyone's life on this."

"There's no way," Jessica sternly shut down.

"I know… Both Baby and William know all my weaknesses. If I go alone… Well, my body might be more valuable to them than my pride is to me. I can't- for Charlie's sake I can't let that happen," Sammy quietly said. He sounded guilty or perhaps even ashamed.

Jessica moved her hand from his shoulder to his back to give it an assuring rub. He gave the lightest chime at the motion and leaned into her arm for support.

"We should leave as soon as possible. We don't know how long the signal will hold," Sammy pointed out. He gave a defeated sign and a sorrowful twang as he dropped his masked face into his hands. "Please, Charlie, let it be you. Heaven help me if I end up in another stupid bear looking for you."

"You've got to tell me this bear story sometime," Carlton remarked. He offered his support to Sammy in the form of a sympathetic pat on his closer shoulder.

Meanwhile, Mike all but charged down Clay's office door. The usually steady Clay jumped as he threw open the door and ran in.

"Mike, for crying out loud, don't do that!" he scolded.

"I wouldn't do it without reason. I mean, I might, but I've got a good reason this time," Mike said. He gestured his head towards the door. "Sammy's got something pulling at his code and it's either a knock-off Freddy or Charlie. Either one might lead us to Afton."

Clay shot up from his desk and started to hustle over. "He can track it?" he asked as he passed by and headed out towards the living room.

"He's pretty sure he can," Mike replied and followed close behind. They walked in on Jessica and Carlton comforting the distressed Sammy.

"You can lead us to her?" Clay asked the Puppet. He expected a nod or something of the like.

What he got instead was a much more scrutinizing answer.

"Us?" Sammy asked. His voice sharp and edged with irritation. "Yes, I can lead us to her… Or them. Whoever it is."

As startled as he might've been, Clay was aware that Sammy could speak. He had even overheard it once or twice- it was hard not to when they were temporarily sharing a home. Sammy might've been quiet, but he wasn't silent and the longer he stayed the more vocal he had become. But that was the least of his concerns.

"So, there is a chance it could be Afton," Clay clarified.

"Does it matter? It's still to her. We know she's with him," Sammy hissed defensively. His head snapping around and staring down the police chief with narrowed eyes. "And you're coming with us?"

"Yes," Clay said steadfast. Only minorly uneased by the shift in the porcelain masks' expression.

"What about getting a warrant? Reasonable evidence? All those things that stopped you from investigating Circus Baby's," Sammy challenged. He drifted out of Jessica's grasp and ghosted across the room until he was standing before the older man. He was clearly still bitter. "If there is any chance that we get there and then you want to back out then by all means, tell me now. I would like to know if we should take separate cars."

"I'm not going to get in your way, Sammy. I want to help you. I want to find her and the boy just as badly as you do," Clay assured him. "And that's why I'm not getting the police force involved. We should, but I can't trust Will to not weasel away in the background. This has to end here, and I'm willing to stake my career on it."

Sammy's eyes widened in surprise before his features finally softened up.

"…I know you do. I'm sorry, that was out of line," Sammy murmured. His pupils darting away to look off at the front door instead of Clay's gaze. "We need to hurry. I don't know how long I'll have the signal." He twitched and shivered at the sensation as he focused on it again.

Clay kept a relatively stiff poker face regardless of how weird it was to see the Puppet emoting. "Then let's not waste any time." He turned back to Mike. "You, me, and Sammy are going to follow the signal and see where it leads. We'll take my car; I just need to grab some things."

"One of those things better be a gun," Mike suggested.

"Please hurry," Sammy pressed.

Clay left to get his things while Mike headed off into the guest room to get a sheet. Jessica waited until both had hurried off before speaking up.

"What about me?" Jessica asked.

"No girls allowed," Carlton chimed in. Barely covering the fact that he was visibly nervous.

Jessica shot him an unenthused look before giving a firm, "I'm going with you."

"I know," Sammy sighed again. He paused a moment before looking back to her. "…Are you sure? It might be dangerous. You could get hurt-."

"You got hurt. I know how dangerous it can be," she pointed out.

"I suppose you do… What about you, Carlton?"

"…Uhh." Carlton dragged out his non-answer for a few good seconds before clamping his mouth shut. Sammy could hear his heartrate; Jessica could nearly see the sweat budding on his brow.

"You don't have to," Sammy said gently. He was more than sympathetic after what Carlton had to go through with Baby. "Nobody will mind if you stay here."

"…No, I don't want to stay here… alone…" Carlton took a deep breath and steadied himself. "No, I'm okay. I'll do it for Charlie."

"Maybe you should wait in the car. You can call for help if we need it," Jessica offered kindly.

Carlton eagerly accepted the out. "I can do that. You can count on me," he said with double thumbs up.

"This is taking too long…" Sammy murmured. He began to anxiously wring his hands. "I don't know what Clay needs so badly, but we need to leave. Immediately."

Suddenly Mike threw a sheet over his head from behind, entirely covering him in one go. "Fast enough."

"Thank you."

"I'll call John," Jessica volunteered. She grabbed her purse from under the coffee table and fished inside for her cellphone.

"Go ahead, but we're not waiting for him. He'll half to catch us on the way through town. Or just meet us at Circus Baby's, odds are that's where we're going," Mike said.

He hooked an arm around Sammy's waist and led him to the door. He opened it only to spot none other than John himself walking up the path to the door. He looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Damn, that was good timing!" Mike complimented. John looked up from the path with a start and Mike pointed him away. "Get in Clay's car. Or get in yours and follow us. We've got a lead."

"You've found her?!" John asked.

"Either her or a booby trap. Odds are one of those two."

Apparently, John liked those odds as he turned on his heel and bolted back to his car, which was partially blocking in Clay's anyway. Mike tugged Sammy to continue only to have the Puppet all but hop up into his arms. Mike rolled with it and hurriedly carried the light animatronic to the car, tossing him and himself into the backseat. Jessica got in the other side and Carlton commandeered the passenger seat.

Then Clay came out, not even taking time to lock the front car and carrying what was clearly his shotgun that he then put in the trunk before getting in.

"Glad to see you took my advice," Mike said. He almost sounded a bit impressed.

"I did, but I don't expect it to be much use depending on what we encounter in there," Clay admitted.

"It would certainly work on Baby. Not that I'm implying you should shoot her in the face if she attacks us, but I am saying that this human body she's adopted is much more fragile than her old one," Sammy pointed out.

"Yeah, it sounds like you're telling him to shoot her in the face. Which I'm totally on-board with," Carlton said.

"Carlton, be serious," Jessica hissed.

"I am."

Mike hissed through his teeth. "I think he's got a point. We might have to shoot the clown."

"Mike…" Sammy sighed.

"That gun isn't getting fired unless I am absolutely sure who I'm aiming at and what's going to happen when I pull the trigger," Clay smoothly shut down. He looked to Carlton in the passenger seat who returned a strained smile. Clay's face softened with worry, and he sighed. "…I know you want to be there for Charlie, but I don't think you should come. I think you should go to Marla's and wait this one out."

"I know, I know, but I'm not going to get in the way or get myself killed or anything. I'm just going to sit in the car and keep watch, and if anything goes down, I can call in backup," Carlton rationalized. As nervous as he was about it, it sounded deceptively safe. "And first sight of Baby, I run her down."

"Carlton."

"Or drive off. Point is, I'm not going to let her get me. I'm not going to let my guard down. I'm going to keep the doors locked- you can count on me," Carlton insisted with a smile. Clay could easily see the force.

"I don't want to put you into that position. You've been through enough already, and it's not your job to put your life on the line," Clay insisted.

Carlton's smile faltered and his true feelings came through. Fear, wariness… but an unwavering determination that looked remarkably like Clay's own. Even though he might've not recognized his own expression, he did recognize the look.

"But… I won't stop you. But you're not coming in with us. I don't want to give Baby even the idea of coming after you again," Clay said protectively.

Carlton smiled a little again. "No problemo, Dad."

A ghost of a smile graced Clay's face before he turned on the ignition and backed out of the driveway, growing serious once more.

"I'm going to start driving towards Circus Baby's. Tell me if the signal moves," he said as he turned to look out the back window.

"I will," the Puppet agreed, knowing he was talking to him.

They drove for a while. Away from Clay's home and deeper into the city of Hurricane. Inching ever closer to Circus Baby's Pizza.

That was, until the Puppet noticed something strange the closer they were getting.

"…Wait…" Sammy murmured. He peeked out under a hood of sheet and began to slowly turn his head towards the window. "…Right."

"Take a right?" Clay asked.

"Yes."

Clay did as was told and they continued down the side street.

"So, it's not Circus Baby's?" Jessica guessed in surprise. Sammy shook her head. "I shouldn't be surprised."

"I am. There's something up at Baby's. We saw plenty of it when we poked around," Mike said. He looked to the Puppet. "Are you absolutely sure?" he asked. He didn't sound doubtful, more so also surprised.

"Yes. It's one set location and it's not in the direction of Baby's…"

"That makes sense. It would be too risky to keep Charlie and the children in the business once they got ahold of them. There was too much of a risk that we would get a proper search warrant to search everything," Clay agreed. From his lack of surprise to the soberness of his tone it was clear that he had already considered this possibility.

The conversation died down again as the drive continued. It was only broken up by Sammy's sparse directing and direction as they drove towards the edge of town, into an area with a lack of development.

Clay noticed the sheet covered Puppet creeping between the seats before a long arm pointed over his shoulder at one specific building. That was it. That was where they were going.

As Clay pulled up outside, he noticed a few key details about the building. Firstly, it seemed to have been abandoned and looked to be without maintenance for some time. The parking lot was cracked with weeks growing through in places, the large glass windows were smudgy- though thick curtains blocked them from seeing inside, there were half peeled decals on both the door and windows, and above the door there was the frame for a sign that had been removed long ago.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Carlton asked.

"Absolutely."

"It looks like an old Freddy's. I'd recognize the shape of the building anywhere," Mike said.

Jessica almost questioned how he could be so sure but upon second look for comparison, it did happen to look a lot like the Freddy's they had visited before it burned down. Maybe they all had that basic shape, as unlikely as it sounded.

Sammy nudged Mike to get out of the car, to which he gave a, "I'm going. I'm going," and did so. Sammy followed right behind him, keeping the sheet clutched close as he peeked his head out. "I think the coast's clear, but I'll keep an eye out," Mike offered. Sammy nodded silently but appreciatively and slowly came out the rest of the way before heading to the front door. Mike following close behind in case they had to quickly jump back into character.

"Keep your cell phone out and the doors locked. Here's the keys; if Baby shows up, I want you to drive off to safety. We can manage, just focus on keeping yourself safe," Clay laid out to Carlton, handing him the car keys.

Carlton clutched them in his hand with a firm nod. "I will. You guys just worry about finding Charlie." He looked into the backseat at Jessica too who nodded and got out of the car.

John was already getting out of his car and met up with Jessica as Clay went around to the back of his car and grabbed his shotgun out of his trunk.

"Looks like he came prepared for a good time," John said dryly.

"Oh yeah. We're going to have oodles of fun," Jessica replied equally. She rubbed over her face with worry. "I hope this is it. I hope she's here…" She looked back at the building through her fingers. "…It doesn't look like it though."

"What was the lead? Did Baby say something?"

"No. Sammy started feeling this pulling- Sammy had a hunch, we'll leave it at that."

John was a little surprised by this and looked towards the sheet covered animatronic who was currently working on unlocking the door. After a moment that shock faded away.

"I trust him," he said with certainty. "Charlie said that she had dreams about Sammy back before she found him and now he's having them about her? I believe it. I don't understand it, but I believe it."

"Same," Jessica agreed.

Though for a moment neither knew if they believed it because they did or because they wanted to.

Mike held the sheet up as Sammy got the door unlocked and pushed it open. It swung open easily once unlocked and he followed it in, and then kept going. He made a breathy gasp as he fell out of the air and onto his legs, staggering on the weak limbs to keep himself from totally falling to the floor.

"Whoa!" Mike grabbed him by the upper arm to stabilize him. "What's up? What happened? Too much?"

"Ngh…" Sammy made a crunchy noise in his chest and cocked his head limply. "Ugh, can you hear that?"

Mike furrowed his brows and strained to listen. "…Yeaaaah, sounds like… Like a high-pitched noise. I can barely hear it."

"I can hearrrr it all t-too much," the Puppet said. He shuddered, the motion trailing down his spine, then reached up and raked his fingers over the side of his mask. "M-mEssing with my progrrramming."

"Do you still have the signal?" Mike asked. Sammy shook his head and Mike swore under his breath. "Oh yeah, definitely sizing up to be a booby trap. Or maybe some sort of anti-puppet security system."

"Of course Will would have something like that. It's alright, we know where she is," Clay said from behind them.

"Yeah, in the building."

"More than that. The parking lot, these tiles." Clay directed their attention to the faded checkered tiling. "This is the same building those kids were kept in; it has to be. Which means there's stairs somewhere that will lead us down into William's holding cells."

"Yes. Herrr sign-l seemed l-low from ouutside," Sammy agreed. "…G-Gonna ssstop talking now."

"Think you can keep going?" Mike asked, massaging Sammy's shoulders like he was priming him for a fight. His fingers sinking into the soft fabric.

"Mm-hmm," Sammy agreed. He took a few unsteady steps before Mike swooped in beside him and hooked an arm around his middle. Sammy gave a weak but happy little trill and appreciatively bumped his head to Mike's.

They started into the empty and abandoned dining room- it must've been from its size- where they were stopped.

"Hey, hold up," Jessica spoke up. They turned back to see her standing there holding open the door. She pointed to one of the faded stickers on the glass. "Look at this."

It was Circus Baby's face.

"That's Circus Baby! So, that means this WAS a Freddy's," Mike said. "Must've been from a long time ago though. They retired the character long before I was working there."

"It wasn't a Freddy's. This must be the original Circus Baby's Pizza World," Clay corrected. "They never had an address listed. I suspected the place had been bulldozed after the gas leaks."

"Gas leaks?" John asked quietly. His brows shooting up.

"The original Circus Baby's Pizza World closed due to gas leaks only days after its initial opening. I won't say it wasn't incredible suspicious, but I will say that there were no disappearances reported around the time."

"Th-That might'vvve been… Oh…" Sammy's voice was still crunchy but now audibly distressed as well.

"Stripes?" Mike asked. His tone growing softer. "You know what happened here?"

"T-Tell you laterrr. Not imp-p-p-orrrtant now."

Nobody argued with him even though some of them wondered if the information would be important.

"We need to be careful in here. I don't smell anything, but sometimes you won't, and something like that could sneak up on us," John forewarned the group. "If anybody starts feeling lightheaded then say something. Don't just try to power through it."

"Agreed," Clay said.

"Right," Jessica added.

Then they began to begin their search proper. They spread out a little- not far enough that something could come up and grab one of them, but enough to get a good look around.

Sammy guided Mike to the stage and Clay followed close behind while John and Jessica head to the entrance of a close by hallway. The layout was only slightly different from Circus Baby's current restaurant.

John spotted a blotchy stairwell sign mounted on the wall beside one of the first doorways. He looked in the room, but it was hard to see as it was pitch dark. From where the light reached, which wasn't that far because there was a faded and water-damaged Circus Baby and band standee blocking the right side of the door and the light from reaching most of the room. Though he could see the ends of some tables.

"What do you see?" Jessica asked. John replied by tapping on the stairwell sign. She furrowed her brow and looked in with scrutiny. "It doesn't look like a stairwell," she pointed out.

"There might be an access door to the stairwell in there," John speculated. "Do you have a light?"

Jessica fished out and handed him her car keys. There was a small light on them that had to be squeezed to glow and even then, offered only the slightest bit of light. John tried it for two seconds before handing it back.

"I'll hit the lights," he said. Jessica looked unamused and kept her keys in hand as he began to lean into the doorway.

He moved the cutout slightly to the side and found the old light switch hidden behind it. He had to step inside and slid his hand along the wall to reach it, clicking the faded yellow lights on.

There was a loud groan from above and he barely moved his leg in before a security door slammed down where he had just been standing, sealing up the doorway. He spun around to face the heavy door in shock.

"John?!" Jessica called through. Her voice was muffled. "John!"

"I'm fine!" John called back. He flipped the light switch on and off to no avail. The lights flickered, but the door did not respond. It had been some sort of trap.

The others hurried up when they heard the commotion and saw the closed door.

"John flipped the lights on and the door slammed shut," Jessica explained.

"Funny, normally there's two separate buttons for that," Mike remarked.

"John, can you hear me?" Clay called in.

"I can! I'm okay!"

"Good! We're going to get this door open. You just sit tight and don't go wandering off." Clay turned to Mike. "Any ideas on getting this door open?" he asked, much to the younger man's surprise.

"Well… Sure, it's a security door. We can cut the power and it'll fly open," Mike said. He passed Sammy onto Jessica. "There's got to be a security office somewhere in the back." Sammy grabbed at Mike's shoulder, and he grabbed and squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Wait here with Jessica. Wobbly or not, she's safer with you than alone." Sammy got a brief offended look before softening up again.

"Carrrreful."

"Nah," Mike replied. With that, Clay and he headed down the hall towards the back, leaving the blond and puppet in the hallway.

In the meantime, John wasn't exactly keen on just standing around when there could be another way out. He went to investigate and stepped past the cutout to see the dimly lit room.

And it was only then that he realized he wasn't alone. His mouth tightened as he stared at the statuesque form in the center of the room.

The room was decorated like a typical party room with two long tables- which were made of two smaller fold-out tables a piece- and a stage in the back which was missing its curtain. The rainbow decal on the back of the stage and the colorful paintjob on the walls were all faded. Some streamers hanging up and the tablecloths looked brand-new and cheap, like someone had bought them from a dollar store and tossed them on.

There were no windows, the floor was grimy, the fluorescent lights were thick with dust and flickering.

And in the center of the room there stood an animatronic.

Between the two tables it stood rigidly and stared straight ahead at the wall. It looked like Foxy. Not Pirate Foxy, but the version of Foxy used for Baby's Band, which John recognized from posters down in Afton Robotics. It was devoid of any dust, freshly cleaned and shiny, but its white paint was faded. The scuffing was especially notable on the purple cheeks and bowtie. Its eye sockets were empty black holes staring vacantly.

The sight of it made John extremely uneasy but the animatronic was not moving. He stood there for a few seconds without it moving even an inch. Then he started to look around the room- keeping the Foxy in his gaze the whole time.

It didn't look like there were any other doors, but there was some space behind the stage that perhaps could hide a door into the backroom. John took a few careful steps out to see the stage better.

Suddenly the Foxy shuddered and lifted its head with a cracking at his neck. John stopped on a dime, watching as the fox stared at the upper portion of the wall, its ears shifting and clicking.

It then slowly turned its head in John's direction with a prolonged squeak, before dropping down its head with another crack. Now its empty eyes were level on John, and the flickering of the lights was getting quicker and more prominent.

Until they flicked off.

John heard rapid heavy footsteps coming at him. He scrambled back until his back was up against the closed security door, hearing the footsteps closing in until-

The lights clicked back on.

And John found himself face to face with the fox animatronic. Or with what remained of its face. Its plates having opened to reveal it wiry endo. Many of the wires loose and hanging down, exposing empty holes that burrowed straight through. Its empty sockets looking even less like eyes without the plating to frame them. Its gaping jaw was loose, and the teeth were nearly bumping John's nose.

John's heart leapt into his throat as he stared at it waiting for it to move. Him holding his breath and still smelling the odor of old metal and chemical cleaner. Jessica was calling through the door, but he couldn't reply. He couldn't move.

Slowly the fox's faceplates closed to their previous position. A few stray wires still hanging loose, some dirtied or with rusty residue on the edges. The empty black eyes still leveled on him.

It was then that the lights began to start flickering and John knew at that moment that they were going to go back out.

He had to move. Now.