Mable: Anybody here a reader of "Can't Go Home Again" and "Almost Feels Like Home"? Well, have I got some exciting news for you! The first chapter of the next story, "Going Home in a Box", is being posted on December 1st! Hurray!

Now, before you get worried about The Broken Circus, it's not going to go on hiatus or anything. Recently posts have slowed down a little, but everything's still going according to plan. So, one shouldn't affect the other.

Anyway, on with the chapter. Enjoy!

The Broken Circus

Chapter 10: My Dinner With Baby

Jessica had never been so nervous to go out to dinner. Whether it be the first day she met back up with the old gang or the first time she dipped into the dating pool back in high school, she typically kept a cool head. That was just how she was. This was a special occasion, a date with the devil if you would. She just had a hunch that whatever she said or did during tonight would have long reaching effects, possibly on Charlie.

That was who they were doing this for though, Charlie. They would do this for Charlie, even if it meant having to spend the night with Baby.

The restaurant was nice enough. An Italian themed family eatery that leaned slightly more on the formal side than the casual one. Not a suit and tie sort of place, but definitely one where she was going to wear a nice skirt and a hoops. She got there after John and Lamar but before Marla and Carlton, and most importantly before Izzy had appeared, meaning she had time to settle in.

They chose a table in the middle of the restaurant. Jessica and John sat alongside each other, angled so they could watch the front door, while Lamar sat at the end to her left. It wasn't too long until Marla and Carlton arrived together and sat across from John and Jessica, with Carlton beside Lamar.

"Any sign of her yet?" she whispered as she sat down.

"Nothing yet. Who knows, maybe she'll be a no-show," Lamar said. He checked his watch and grimaced a little when he noted that this was still early into their meeting time. It was too early to guarantee anything.

"She might've caught on," John mumbled. He was watching the front door like a hawk, giving everyone who stepped through a once over.

"When's she ever worried about keeping a low-profile?" Jessica muttered back. She opened her menu and started to glance through it to look inconspicuous, though her interest and appetite were both long gone.

"After Charlie disappeared," John answered. She looked to him for a moment, he didn't return her gaze, and then returned to the menu.

Things went quiet for a little while. Or quiet enough, with Lamar and Carlton getting into a conversation on whether Venice was part of Italy or its own country. Marla and Jessica also occasionally whispered about what they were going to say, effectively running their lines in this charade they were performing. Trying to figure out which angle would get them closer to finding Charlie.

That was when the door opened again and John's eye locked onto the woman walking in. He subtly nudged Jessica's arm and muttered, "I think that's her."

Jessica got a quizzical look at that 'I think', but once she looked towards the door that question was gone and replaced with a few others. She said nothing as she stared blankly at the woman approaching the table.

Izzy had dressed up bizarrely to say the least. She was wearing a skin-tight red dress that went almost to her knees with a pair of stark white, slightly ripped tights underneath. Overtop the dress she wore a beat-up looking biker jacket with studs, half of which were missing, and she bottomed the ensemble with a pair of painfully high, bright yellow heels. Heels that she could barely walk in, as evidence from the teetering saunter she took while approaching the table.

Her makeup was just the icing on the cake. Her eyes were ringed with thick, dark eye shadow and lips were coated in bright red lipstick, giving her an unintentional clown look. Her grey tinged hair didn't help; it was as though it was slowly losing color from the bottom up.

Considering that this was a casual dining establishment, she stuck out like a sore thumb. Her unrealistic clothing matching her behavior and believability.

Marla got up to greet her with faux excitement while the others took a second to compose herself. Carlton had to turn away with tight lips when Izzy came wobbling towards the table like a toddler wearing her mother's shoes. She sat down opposite of Lamar, with Marla to her right and John to her left. There was no way it couldn't feel immediately awkward, but they all managed a straight face.

She turned her head towards John and her gaze fixated in on him. Unlike some of the others, specifically Carlton, he found nothing funny about this. She could've come in dressed as Baby herself and nothing would've taken away from the unease that filled him as she made unblinking eye contact. She looked more like a doll than a person.

"It's good to see you again, John. How have you been?" she asked. He took this moment as an excuse to break eye contact.

"Pushing forward," he answered distantly. He didn't want to give her the pleasure of anything more revealing.

"That's good. You should take care of yourself," she said. Eyes wide to simulate something like care or sympathy, batting her eyelashes in what might've been misguided flirtation. John didn't give this away and just gave a solemn nod. Izzy stared a moment longer before turning her attention across the table. "How about the rest of you?"

"Alright, all things considered," Jessica managed.

"Just, y'know, still doing the college thing," Lamar added in. They both sounded rather awkward.

Marla managed to be less-so, deciding to instead turn the conversation back on Izzy. "What about you, Iz? How are things going with Arty?" Izzy's eyes seemed to glaze over in disinterest if they even could.

"Good. He adores me. He follows me like a puppy… He's clingy- but sweet. Very sweet and I care very dearly about him," Izzy said. Needless to say, only one word of that sounded honest. "It got to the point where he started insisting to drive me home. I think he might've been following me. I had to put a stop to that."

"What did you do?" Marla asked stiltedly, smile locked in place.

"I told him I had an overprotective father and that if he caught us together, he would run him over with his car."

Marla was the only one who managed a fake half-laugh. Everyone else tried to hide how uncomfortable they were. Jessica and Lamar shared a hidden look of unease.

"I bet that worked," Marla said. She grabbed Carlton's leg under the table, and it spurred him to speak up.

"I don't know. Arty strikes me as the type that might take those odds and roll with them," Carlton added in. He used a tone of disinterest to cover how equally creeped out he was.

"Or he's afraid of more women being taken," John said. There was a slight tinge of coldness in his voice. Izzy didn't seem to notice.

"I know he cares. Or at least he thinks he does," she said quietly. She looked off distantly at the middle of the table as though she briefly lapsed into her thoughts or had suddenly shut down on the spot with how still she was. Only to rouse and send a longing look between Marla and Carlton. "I wish I had what you two have…"

Carlton quirked a brow and looked at Marla who managed a natural smile. Izzy then rolled her eyes back to John, lips pursed as she added, "Or what you had."

That 'had' hung over the table like a cloud of smoke.

"Have," John clarified.

Izzy cocked her head a little too far to look like a natural movement.

It all left Jessica feeling a little shaky and she took a sip of her iced tea to calm her nerves.

"Don't let her get a rise out of you or our cover's blown. Deep breaths, she's doing this on purpose," she told herself. She managed to calm down without being noticed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Let's talk about something else," Izzy suggested with a gentler tone. It sounded apologetic, but they didn't believe it, especially when she introduced the next topic, "Did you all go to Circus Baby's Pizza?"

Marla and Lamar shared a tense look that went unnoticed as Izzy's gaze was instead fixated on John, who was beginning to feel increasingly wary. This was the closest he had gotten to being afraid of Baby because he saw what Charlie had seen. These weren't the eyes of a human being; they were the cold eyes of a machine.

He would never forget their haunting glow from the depths of Afton Robotics, but only now were they at risk of giving him nightmares.

"We did, but we didn't stay there long. Just long enough to take a look around and get a pizza. It was a spur of the moment thing," Jessica answered. It just seemed simpler to be honest, so they didn't have to keep track of a complicated story. Especially since Izzy was probably asking because she already knew. "It wasn't… great."

"That's just how it is. Those kinds of places were great when we were kids, but now that we're adults it's hard ignore the faults and get into the fantasy aspect of it all," Lamar remarked. "The same thing happened with that Freddy's that opened. No amount of nostalgia could bring back those old feelings."

"…Well, that was a little depressing," Jessica remarked. "Depressing but true."

"…Freddy's? I don't remember there being a Freddy's in town," Izzy spoke up.

"There isn't anymore. It burned down," John answered. It wasn't until after he said it that he suddenly realized that Baby would've been there and looked to her to see if she had a reaction. She did; that distant stare off into the table returned. He wasn't sure if it was her pondering something or if she was so inanimate that she had to actually process what she was supposed to feel here.

"You weren't missing much. It was so loud it was like sitting in an airport, and the food was just as bad and overpriced," Carlton quipped. Marla nudged him a little, more in a playful way than in a correcting way. Anything to lighten up the mood. Carlton continued, "I don't know if the girls told you, but we used to go to Freddy's when we were kids."

"I think I remember that. I think Charlie said something about it," Izzy said. She blinked her dollish eyes at Carlton. "Was it better than Circus Baby's?"

"This one or the old one? Because there used to be a Circus Baby's a long time ago, but it shut down or something."

Jessica's brows raised across the table. She wasn't sure what angle Carlton was going at, but she was intrigued at this new direction. She eagerly hopped onboard.

"Apparently Circus Baby's closed under mysterious circumstances, just like the old Freddy's before this one did," Jessica explained.

"Did they say why?" Izzy asked curiously.

"Charlie had found some newspapers that said it was a gas leak."

"A what?" Izzy seemed surprised. "What does that mean?"

"Probably a faulty oven or something. Maybe they weren't installed right," Jessica pretended to guess. "Depending on what the building was beforehand, it could've been anything."

"Or it could've been that scary-as-hell clown we saw in Afton's basement of fun," Carlton remarked casually, and rather boldly if taken by the looks he got from everyone. He didn't even acknowledge it, instead looking down the table at Izzy. "You're asking about Baby's? You're going to get a kick out of this: we were at this- I don't know- this warehouse of some kind and we found a rancid looking Circus Baby animatronic. Might've been the same one from that old pizzeria. Looked like someone took a blowtorch to it. Had all this stuff hanging out-."

"Whoa," Lamar briefly interjected. Carlton looked to him, seeing his tense look, and shooting it a smile.

"Relax, this was, what, months ago? Even if someone does go to the cops and say we were trespassing, they aren't going to care. Especially not Dad, he's got his own stuff going on," Carlton waved off. He continued, "Anyway, so we find this busted up, gnarly clown down in this basement. It even chased us around a little before, I don't know, it got its guts hooked on something and got stuck in a vent. Some real messed up stuff going on down there."

"Carlton," Jessica said a little tightly. "We're two minutes from eating. Can we stay on topic? Another topic?"

"Does anyone remember those frozen pizzas from the old Freddy's?" Marla chimed up. "Those ones that were like all garlic bread and a splash of sauce. Oh my gosh, those used to make me so sick, but I kept asking Mom to buy them."

"Come on, guys. It's no big deal! Charlie probably told Izzy about it," Carlton said, gesturing down to Izzy, who was staring silently down the table. "So, we had a moment of shared trauma with Willie Afton's Freddy Fazbear knock-off-."

Crunch.

That weird noise stopped Carlton right in his tracks. At the time he was looking towards Jessica and his eyes popped open to mimic her own. She looked down the table and he followed suit, and both soon saw the source of the noise.

Izzy was standing straight at attention and so still that it didn't even look like she was breathing. Her face was blank while her unblinking eyes stared daggers into Carlton even once he looked at her. Her hand was resting on the table.

She had broken her fingernails on the table.

But before Carlton even process how disturbing that was, Marla suddenly leaned forward and blocked his view with her head.

"Can I talk with you out at the car for a second?"

That was a dangerous tone. He was almost as afraid of her as Baby herself with that tone- not that he was afraid of the unintentionally clownishly dressed woman, even if she was looking like she was about to strangle him in public. He got up and followed Marla out without saying anything else, to spare himself any further repercussions.

He followed her outside and a short way out into the parking lot before she suddenly spun around and turned on him.

"Carlton, what in the HELL are you doing?!" Marla snapped. His brows shot up at the uncharacteristically harsh language from her, but he could see the fear on her face.

"Riling up Baby," he answered honestly.

"I can see that," Marla huffed. She planted her hands on her hips and lowered her voice to a whisper, "We know what she's capable of! You're not helping, all you're doing is getting her angry and putting a big target on your back!"

"Right."

Marla now raised her brows, staring at him silently and clearly not expecting that rather blunt acceptance.

"The way I see it, being Baby's friend isn't going to get Charlie back, but catching her in the middle of doing something, getting evidence that shows this whole thing is fake, that's going to be what opens doors. Once we can prove Izzy is Circus Baby, then Dad'll have no choice but to tear apart Baby's Pizza. I probably couldn't stop him if I tried," he explained. He sent a wary glance at the door. "I'll make myself a target and we use that to trap her."

"…Carlton, that's the worst idea I've ever heard," Marla huffed. "She's not just going to launch herself across the table in public."

"No, but before she went and broke her fingers- which, by the way, did you see that? Ugh. The plan was to lead into me telling everyone that I was thinking of going back there tonight to try and break back in. Everyone's going to think that's a bad idea and tell me not to, but after Baby's gone, I tell them the real plan. Then I go there 'alone' and you guys secretly follow me in a separate car and we catch her in the act."

"But- see- but you didn't even tell us that was what you were going to do!"

"…That's because I just thought of it," Carlton confessed. He gave a small smile as her face scrunched up in frustration. "It's that or listen to Baby hint all night about what she's done to Charlie and then let her leave without any answers."

"Carlton, this isn't a game! You can't just suddenly decide to play hero and go around poking the bear until someone snaps!"

"Marla, we both know she took Charlie and we both know that if she's still alive that she probably doesn't have much time left. Baby's HERE, in town, screwing around doing whatever. If she dumped Charlie off in a basement- which is the best-case scenario- then unless she's bringing her food and water, we've got a limited amount of time. She can live at least a week without food, but she won't make it that long without water."

"…You're right." Marla's look fell from one of scolding to one of horror, causing Carlton's face to soften up. Sometimes he could look so much like Clay. She looked down, clutching her hands.

Carlton pulled her into a hug and for a few minutes they just stood outside holding each other. The fight briefly forgotten, and they worried together, both for Charlie, Marla now also for Carlton. He was putting himself in danger just for the chance of getting Baby. It seemed so foolish… but so noble. It took a lot more nerve than she had playing along with Izzy's sick replacing Charlie fantasy. That was the tipping point.

"…Okay," Marla agreed. Before Carlton could reply, she pulled back to look him in the eyes and interrupted him. "But we only do this if you let us- me- know what you're going to do before you do something crazy, and that's it with provoking Baby. Anymore poking and she'll catch on, if she didn't already."

Carlton wasn't going to argue after that display at the table and after a few seconds of planning, they headed back into the restaurant. As soon as Marla stepped through the door, Carlton caught her by the arm.

"Marla, please. I can't do this without you," he said pleadingly. Her face tightened as she spun towards him.

"I have nothing to say to you. If you- If you're going to risk your life to go back there afterwe almost died there, AFTER your father searched the whole place top to bottom, then you're doing it alone," she loudly whispered. Low enough to sound like she was trying to hide it, high enough that anyone paying attention could've heard it. Including everyone at their friends' table.

"You want me to go alone?" Carlton asked in feigned shock.

"If you're stupid enough to go back there when you know what happened to Charlie, then yes!" Marla snapped at him. Her voice cracked as she looked away, covering her face with one hand, as though trying to keep from crying. Then looked up at him again and said with finality, "That's the bottom line. What are you going to do?"

"…What I have to," he answered cryptically. He turned to leave, hesitating in the doorway to look back before leaving. She stared after him for a moment before sighing, hands tightly balled into fists, and returned to the table.

"What was that?" Lamar asked in surprise and confusion. Marla shook her head as she sat down.

"It's nothing. Just Carlton trying to get himself… arrested," she muttered.

The table was silent for a moment as they tried to process what this meant. John glanced to Jessica, who was looking at him, and then stood from the table.

"I'm going to go see if I can stop him," John said. Instead intending to catch up and ask what was going on.

"Don't bother. He's probably already halfway out of the parking lot by now," Marla said grumpily. This didn't stop him from heading out.

Jessica stole a glance at Izzy. Her eyes were lidded almost in a bored way, or perhaps a thoughtful way. Head propped up by her uninjured hand while the one with the broken nails was now tucked into her lap. It didn't make another appearance for the rest of the evening.

John, however, did. He returned after five minutes and sat down in his seat with his own pensive look.

"Couldn't catch him. I tried to call, but he's not picking up," John explained. Though from the time he was gone alone, Jessica realized that he must've caught up to him. She didn't ask; if he wasn't saying then it was to allude Izzy's hearing.

"Maybe he'll just head home and chill out. Are you guys ready to order?" Jessica asked, picking up her menu. She glanced over to Izzy, noticing she didn't have one. "Oh! Izzy, here you go. They passed them out before you came."

This seemed to finally snap Izzy out of that weird silence. Her eyes began to blink and reverted from their glassy stare, and her movements became a bit more natural and humanlike. She took the menu with a thank you and held it with one hand, scanning over the inside before Lamar flagged the waitress to take their order.

In a final act of oddness, which was ironically the most normal thing Izzy had done that evening, she ordered dessert instead of dinner: tiramisu with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Nobody asked why, the closest thing to it was Marla wondering out loud about what it was. She was seemingly trying to keep the mood lively and not think about wherever Carlton was.

She was a great actress, John thought. Even better than Carlton, even before he caught up with him and was brought up to speed.

The rest of dinner was rather lowkey. Nobody crossed the same line Carlton had or made any attempt to antagonize Izzy beyond a few unassuming questions. As expected, she was largely tight-lipped with her answers. They felt rehearsed, from the story about living in an apartment in St. George that she could barely describe, to talking about a date with Arty which John recognized as sounding disturbingly similar to the last date he had with Charlie.

Eventually the meal finished up and the group was prepared to head out. Izzy thanked them politely, saying how much she enjoyed spending time with them, and even exchanged a hug with both Marla and Jessica. Both noticed how rigid it felt. Not her body, she felt deceptively normal on the outside, but her motions and limbs, like she was awkwardly replicating an action she had never performed before. When Marla offered to keep the night going though, she declined.

She said she had to get home and left very quickly afterwards. They didn't follow her. They had somewhere else to go.

Which was how the group ended up huddled together in John's car, parked like they were on a stakeout, hidden discreetly out of the way as they watched Carlton walk around Afton Robotics' parking lot.

He made a good effort of it. He tried to get in through the front door, tried to break the newly replaced chains and tearing down the police tape left behind after the investigation, tried the windows, and even walked around the building and out into the middle of the road. All to bait Baby out of hiding.

But Baby didn't take the bait. It wasn't even like there was a passing car that might've spotted the others. Nobody came by, nothing moved inside or around the building, and an hour of this had no results.

Eventually Carlton threw his arms up in the air and hiked over to John's car. He rolled down the window for him.

"I don't think she's coming," the redhead muttered, leaning against the window. "I knew I should've kept nailing her."

"Please don't say anything about nails," Jessica said, facially wincing at the thought. She sighed and sunk into the passenger's seat, face and eyes falling with disappointment. "She must've caught on. Or she's too careful to slip up."

"You don't get away with kidnapping kids without taking steps to avoid getting caught. She's probably always looking over her shoulder. Only slipping up when she knows it's not going to do us any good," John lamented. He stared at the steering wheel for a long moment. "…Did anyone else hear when she said we 'had' a good relationship?"

"Don't even pay attention to that. She was just baiting you just like Carlton was baiting her," Jessica quickly shut down. The firmness of her voice smacked him out of the hopelessness he started slipping into. "She's way too obsessed with everything Charlie to get rid of her like that. She probably knows where she is and gets some kind of a sick kick out of playing around with us."

No matter how concerned or pessimistic John could be about this situation, that sounded pretty on-brand for the Baby he had seen.

"You know what? I should've started cracking jokes about her clothes. I could've made so many circus puns about the makeup alone," Carlton said, pointing to John. "I bet she would've followed me out if I did."

"Or just broke off her nails in your eyes," Lamar piped up between the seats. He noticed Jessica sending him a look. "Oh right. Sorry."

"So, what's the plan? Because if I'm out any later without a good excuse, Dad's going to get paranoid," Carlton said. Partial joking aside, he sounded genuinely disappointed. It was surprising to believe that someone would be disappointed to not be stalked by a psychotic robot, but in this case, it meant the dead end they hit they were still firmly stuck in.

John gave a defeated shrug. "What can we do? I guess for now we get you home… Figure something out in the morning."

Nobody wanted to do this and yet nobody could disagree. Carlton pulled off the window and jogged back over to his car which he got into and started up. Or, correction, checked the backseat and trunk of before getting in and starting it up. John pulled up and kept a close eye until Carlton pulled past him and onto the road.

It wasn't until he was completely alone and making his way home that he began to feel a little creeped out. When he had been with his friends, he had felt untouchable. He had wanted Izzy to make a scene so that she could put her own neck in a noose, but now he was alone, drive home, without any witnesses. Even dressed like a circus streetwalker, she was a little scary. Or at least knowing what she was.

Charlie wouldn't have been taken without a fight; Sammy had confirmed as much. Carlton wasn't arrogant enough to assume that he could do much better.

It felt like time crept slowly until Carlton finally pulled up onto his road and into the driveway shortly afterwards. His father's car was already there, and he parked up beside it. He stole a look at the clock before he shut the car off. It was late enough that he was going to get questioned, but he could handle that. He was actually relieved his dad was home with everything going on.

He got out of his car and hurriedly jogged up to the front door. He didn't notice the car pulling up behind him until a second before a sudden honk from it caused him to jump and turn back.

But it was just John's car, with Jessica giving a casual wave and Marla giving a call of, "Get inside!" through cupped hands.

"Yes, Mom," Carlton retorted. She stuck her tongue out at him and gave a wave as they continued driving off, going back to the restaurant to get their respective cars. He watched them get halfway down the street before hurrying the rest of the way inside. The house was welcoming, with all its lights on and the front door fit with a secure bolt lock.

"Dad, I'm home!" he called as he shut and locked the door behind him.

A few moments later, Clay came out of his office to greet him. The fact that he came out to greet him instead of calling back was his first warning that the questions were coming.

"Glad you're home. It was starting to get late," he said. Carlton gave a shrugging nod of agreement. "I'm not going to hound you about it, but where were you?"

"With the guys, I promise," Carlton answered. "…Any news on Charlie?"

"Nothing yet. We're still searching the car, but it's looking like we're not finding anything concrete," Clay admitted. Normally he wouldn't have been so willing to give case details to his son, but in this case he knew it was worth being honest, less risk him and the others worrying. Or going out and doing something foolish. Seeing Carlton's crestfallen look, he added, "But we're not going to stop until we find her."

"Yeah, I know," Carlton said. He knew his father was doing all he could within his limited, but he also couldn't stand that he was staying within those limits. He had broken so many rules trying to protect Charlie from the Butchers and yet here he was not pulling the same stops. Maybe it was what happened with his mother. Maybe someone warned him there would be consequences if he took those same risks.

Maybe he needed someone to light a fire under him.

"We ran into Izzy today," Carlton admitted. His father looked to him inquisitively. Last time Izzy had been brought up he hadn't been too interested. This time he seemed to be paying more attention. "She was acting weird."

"Weird how?"

"Well, for one, she was dressed up like a little kid playing dress-up. Started making weird comments about Charlie and broke all her nails, like in a threatening way- Dad, she's Circus Baby," Carlton finally was out with it. It wasn't the first time someone said it to him, but it was the first time he himself was so direct. "She's not human. She's a robot being controlled by another robot who's probably in Circus Baby's Pizza right now unless someone moved her."

Clay was silent for a long moment until Carlton scoffed. "What, you don't believe me?"

"Did Charlie ever tell you what it was that made her think this woman was Circus Baby?" Clay asked. At first Carlton thought he was challenging him and was about to retort with Clay interjected, "She said that she said something, but I don't remember her clarifying exactly what that was… and at the time I failed to follow up."

At least he was fessing up to it. Carlton sucked in a breath and thought back. "It was something like how pretty her eyes were. No, wait. It was her hair. She walked up to her at the diner, leaned in really close, and whispered about how beautiful her hair was. Which is already creepy enough, but the reason it tipped off Charlie was because it was the same thing Baby said to her down in Afton Robotics. You can ask John; he was there both times."

Clay hummed but looked torn even before he spoke.

"It's not that I don't believe you or Charlie. I do, but my hands are tied. If we make any rash decisions, we could be risking the lives of the other missing children."

"What are you talking about?" Carlton asked in confusion.

"I'm talking about William Afton," Clay said direly. "All three found children have told us similar stories about being kidnapped by a woman dressed like a clown and taken to a basement where they are taken care of by an animatronic clown like Circus Baby. We can't be sure if the clown is doing it against William's wishes or part of some scheme, but we do know that it is likely she is following his instruction. If he's the ringleader, then we have to be careful what we do with her."

"But what if she takes more kids?"

"That's a risk we're worried about, but right now we're more worried about the ones he does have, including Charlie."

Carlton stared at his face who rubbed a tired hand over his face.

"Our best bet is to get hard enough evidence to hold her and get her to turn over the location of William, Charlie, and the children. If she has a chance to get out and she alerts him, he could decide to cut his losses or retaliate. Which knowing William would end violently… But if she can't, we can storm the location and catch him with his back turned, securing his hostages and ending his madness once and for all."

Suddenly it all made a new level of sense to Carlton, but it was a devastating one because that meant Clay's refusal to rush in had a good reason behind it. It took that option off the table.

"I will admit that I didn't take Charlie's concerns seriously enough when she came to me. I was wrong and I'm going to spend the rest of my life knowing I let her down… God forbid if something happens to her…" An unfamiliar look of sorrow and worry passed his gaze before hardening up. "But I can't afford to let my own regrets put someone else in danger. If this is the real William Afton, then he must be found and taken care of."

"…Right. Yeah, I get it," Carlton said, now marginally meeker. Clay put a strong hand on his shoulder, and he looked up at him. "Thanks for telling me. I think I understand now."

"Just know that we are doing all we can. It might not be enough, but I'm not stopping until we bring them home. Charlie included," Clay said. Though he couldn't hide the grim tone in his voice. "…Have you eaten? There's lasagna in the fridge."

"Thanks. I'll nuke it in a minute," Carlton agreed. He wasn't exactly hungry, but he needed to eat since he skipped dinner at the restaurant. A move that didn't even pay off in the end. He stuck his hands in his pockets and started to head in there. Clay let him go, watching him leave with a look of concern and guilt, then turned to return to his office.

Carlton slowed to a shuffle as he headed towards the kitchen, fully lost in thought. He understood it, but he didn't want to accept it. They had seen so much and knew what Izzy really was, but that just wasn't enough. Her flimsy disguise worked when someone wasn't looking too closely. There just wasn't enough to go on: word of mouth from a couple of people and one suspicious comment about hair.

…Wait. Hair.

In an instant a lightbulb turned on in Carlton's head. Something suddenly clicked between that comment and Izzy, and he hustled into the office after his father. Clay hadn't even sat down when Carlton rushed in.

"That clown woman who's running around taking kids, she's blond, right?" he boldly asked. His father looked at him for a moment before starting to sit down.

"Yes," he answered, once again giving him his full attention. "From what the kids have said, she has blond hair that is dyed green at the ends. Usually pulled into double pigtails."

"And you remember seeing Izzy, right? You remember she's blond?" Carlton asked. Before his father could agree and risk him shooting his idea down with statistics of how many blond women were in Hurricane, he continued, "She still is, but from here down her hair's grey. It wasn't grey a couple of months ago, it was blond, and now she suddenly has grey hair, and funny that it's in the same place that, oh, let's say green, would be if she tied her hair up like this."

He made pigtail motions with his hands and slowly Clay's eyes started to widen. He was catching on, but Carlton wasn't done.

"Human hair can be dyed different colors and dyed back, but if this is some kind of wig hair or something fake then it could've bleached all the color out when she tried turning it back to blond," he pointed out. He raised a hand in defense, cutting off anything else. "And I know what you said, you don't want to risk her getting back to Afton, but this might be something you can actually hold her on."

This was enough to get Clay thinking and Carlton didn't dare interrupt the silence that followed. Unfortunately, something else did.

Carlton barely restrained his frustration when the phone began ringing. Finally, onto something and here comes an interruption, and of course Clay jumped to answer it.

"Burke," he answered. Carlton couldn't understand the muffled voice on the line, but he did notice his father's furrowing brows. "What?" he asked sharply and leaned forward on the desk. "Was he inside or still out in the parking lot?"

Carlton's eyes popped open, and he slowly turned and started to inch his way out of the office. He wasn't sure if that was what he thought it was, but he wasn't risking attention with any sudden movements.

"He's down there now?... Alright, I'll be there in a minute. Don't do anything until I get there," Clay briskly said. He hung up the phone and stood from his chair, yanking his jacket off the back of it and pulling it on. "I have to head down to the station. Someone was caught breaking into Circus Baby's."

"…Circus Baby's?" Carlton asked as he cautiously looked back. Seeing his father's attention not directed at him, he breathed a sigh of relief. Circus Baby's, not Afton Robotics. He was off the hook. Though this did make him curious. "Was it Izzy?"

"No, it was a male. He's being held at the station," Clay answered. He paused before getting a tired look, "If I get down there and find Mike…" He shook his head and then passed Carlton and headed down to the front door. "I shouldn't be gone more than an hour. Keep the doors locked and stay home, alright?"

"Got it. Sure thing, Chief," Carlton said with a mock salute. He sent a flat look at the door as it closed. Finally found a good lead and something swoops in to steal his thunder.

He wasn't going to let it drop. He would be right back on it as soon as his father got home. In the meantime, he'd try out that lasagna.

It was the kind that was frozen and made in the oven, not from scratch. These had been a familiar staple in the house for years. Neither of Carlton's parents really had the time to cook, but they had used to make the effort to sit down to dinner. Considering everything that was going on, Carlton didn't blame his father for not having the time to stick around, but he couldn't help but think that the house felt especially empty. Lonely, even.

He really should've asked Marla to stick around. He knew she would've, especially after what happened earlier, but he didn't want her to have to make up excuses for her parents. They were pretty understanding but staying at your boyfriend's house at night while his parents were gone was never going to sound innocent. Still, it would've been better than standing beside the microwave, watching a square piece of lasagna spin around.

Thump.

That sounded like a window opening.

The realization hit him so suddenly that it caused Carlton's back to go rigid. He turned his head to listen and waited like that until he heard another noise. This one was quieter, harder to distinguish, and he slowly inched out of the kitchen and back into the living room. He followed the noises to the basement door, which had been left half open.

It sounded like someone was downstairs.

…Or it could've been the dryer. That was the more likely option too, since his father typically threw the laundry in after he got home from work, if Carlton hadn't. Which he might've forgotten to do… again. So, either someone opened the basement window and was now bumping around trying to get in, or the dryer was bumping around again. It was very likely the latter and probably not the former.

Carlton was split between wanting to go downstairs and look, and make sure he was hearing what he thought he was, and not doing that because if it was the more unlikely option, he would be making himself a target.

So, he stood at the top of the basement stairs for a long time before he made the decision to go take a look. He edged open the basement door and saw that the lights were on downstairs, a sign that his father had recently been down there.

He stepped down slowly and carefully, staying close to the wall as to not risk the steps creaking. He had already taken his shoes off, so he was almost completely silent as he took one at a time. The further he got down the stairwell, the more he heard a familiar humming. The washing machine was running. Though instead of assuring him, this made him significantly more wary. The washing machine and dryer wouldn't be running at the same time, and something was bumping.

His breathing seemed so loud. To the point where he tried to hold his breath, but eventually had to pull in short draws of air, which also seemed too loud. Even when up against the hum of the washing machine and the occasional thump and sliding noise. It sounded like something being dragged, he realized, and reached the last step before he would see the basement window.

Holding onto the railing, Carlton slid over and peeked into the room.

Something was hanging in through the basement window. In the dull gloam it looked like a mannequin had been half-heartedly shoved in and he aimed the flashlight onto it. His heart dropped in an instant.

It was Izzy. It had to be, with her strawberry blond hair hanging over her head and her arms bent against the wall. One of her wrists was turned entirely around so she could hook her fingers on the edge of a shelf beneath the window.

He saw her broken fingernails.

It was all he needed to see to know that something awful was coming. That she was something awful.

He hadn't made a single noise that he was aware of and yet her movements stilled like she had detected his presence. Her head started to lift up, and up, and past the point of humanly possible until her glassy, green eyes were staring past her scraggly hair and directly into his. Her mouth was stretched open as though in a yawn, but it didn't take much thinking to realize that it was kept forcibly open by the position of her head.

Mouth gaping open, skin stretched like plastic around it, and yet a clear voice still spoke from the hollow.

"Don't… Run."

Carlton silently and immediately disobeyed.

He turned around and bolted up the basement stairs, stumbling a little on the way but making it out the door and slamming it shut behind him. He held it closed with his weight, realizing that the door couldn't be locked on this side. His heart was pounding, his teeth were gritted so tightly that his jaw was aching, and he kept his ear planted against the wood as he listened for her.

She must've taken her time coming through the window because it was a few minutes before he heard her footsteps on the stairs. They were clicking like she was still wearing her heels. He noticed she was still wearing her dress, though not her jacket or any accessories. It didn't look like she had a weapon, but he wasn't going to risk a one-on-one confrontation. He flinched as she tried to turn the doorknob and held tight.

She might've been confused at first to why it didn't turn as he could hear her clicking the lock a few times, but she caught on quickly. She softly knocked on the door.

"Let me in. I just want to talk."

Her voice didn't sound right. Normally Izzy's voice sounded like a blend of Charlie and Jessica's with a softer pitch, but this one was even more faint. Echo-y and hollow, like she was talking from the other side of a pipe, or like he was listening to a phone call with bad reception. It was faint and artificial. He didn't have the nerve to respond.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I promise. Please?"

There was no way that Carlton was letting this door open. He kept his mouth shut and his weight on the door. She tried the doorknob again.

The silence following that was suffocating.

Then he heard her thumping footsteps as she hastily descended down the steps. Carlton didn't move from the door. Not just because he didn't trust her, but because he knew all of the other windows and doors were locked. This was the only way she could get in and as long as he held it closed, he would be safe. Or that's what he wanted to believe.

He heard some bumping around down in the basement. Izzy- no- Baby was probably looking for another way to get into the house, but she wasn't going to find anything.

"I might have enough time to make a run for it," Carlton thought. Run out the front door, leap into the car, and drive off, but then Izzy would probably get away scott-free. Which he couldn't let happen now that she was bold enough to break in.

He could call someone. He got his cellphone out of his pocket and dialed his father's number, only for the call to not go through. He checked his phone and saw that it said he didn't have service, and since he normally made calls inside the house with no issue, he could only assume it was Baby's doing. The closest phone would be in his father's office, but he wasn't sure if it was worth the risk leaving the door to reach it.

And then the world went dark.

Carlton's breath hitched as he was suddenly left blinded. Senses heightening and panic growing, he listened against the door and between that and through the floor he could hear movement around the side of the stairs. Baby must've found the breaker box and flipped the switch. He wasn't even sure how she found it, considering it had been painted over when they started refurbishing the basement.

"Don't panic. She's just trying to freak me out so I'll leave the door and she can get in. She's still stuck down there," Carlton reminded himself. Turning his back to rest on the door, he tried to make some sense of his bearings. The only thing he could see was the dull glow of a streetlight through the living room curtains. He just had to hold out for a while.

Which he did, until he started hearing noises in the basement again. Thumping and bumping from a familiar section of it. "Is she climbing back out the window?"

She was probably thinking she would be able to get in up here or was trying to make it sound like she was to get Carlton away from the door. It didn't work though since he was frozen in place, listening for anything. Eventually the sounds in the basement quieted down and it seemed likely that she got outside.

It wasn't confirmed until he heard the crash of shattering glass from somewhere in the back of the house. In an instant, Carlton bolted from the basement door and to the office. By either instinct or a miracle, he made it even in the pitch dark and made it inside, slamming and shutting the office door behind him. He then fumbled towards the desk and went into the drawer that he knew held a spare flashlight.

Footsteps could be heard hastily pattering down the hall as Carlton shined the tiny light over the desk and at the door. Her hearing was a lot better than he expected, because she came straight to the door and tried to come through, only to find it again holding fast. She knocked on the door and, somehow realizing he wasn't bracing the other side, suddenly rammed into it. It didn't matter how small she was, the wood quivered under her hidden weight.

Carlton knew she was going to get in. Using the landline phone to call help wasn't an option. He could only defend himself or climb out the window and make a run for it. His decision was to unplug one of the cords under the desk.

So, when the door finally broke open and Baby stepped inside, she was blindsided by the desk lamp cracking into the side of her head. It staggered her at first, so he hit her again with the now bent lamp, knocking her into the doorway and shoving by to make a run for the front door. She grabbed at his shirt and held so tightly that it tore before tripping over her heels and falling to the floor, giving Carlton a second to escape.

He ran out the front door and leapt into the driver's seat of his car before slamming the door and wrestling the keys out of his pocket. He got them in, the car on, and threw it into reverse right as Baby ran out the front door. He floored it.

…Except something was wrong. The car was moving backwards, but sluggishly and there was a strange noise coming from underneath. It felt like there was something wrong with the tires and he realized she must've done something to them.

She wrenched open the driver's side door before he could even think to lock it and threw herself on top of him. Suddenly her lips were on his in an aggressive kiss as she pinned him with her weight and twisting limbs. At first, he was very confused at what was happening, mind trying to sort out what was going on. If Baby was into him; if Baby had a thing about insults.

It only took a few seconds before harsh reality set in, when he realized what she was really doing. She was silencing his screams and cutting off his airflow. With how tightly she pressed in his nose was blocked and her mouth was sealed tightly onto his. He tried to fight her off to no avail. If anything, the car sealed his fate as she was able to use it to trap him in, going so far as to grab the handle on the seat and force it to drop into a recline.

He only had a second to yell and try to push her back before she was on him again. He hadn't even gotten a proper breath before all air was cut off a second time. Now he was beginning to panic as she climbed totally on top of him, her weight crushing into his chest and suppressing his lungs. She was trying to kill him- he realized. She was going to suffocate him right here and now.

Somehow, he managed to think enough to keep fighting. When he couldn't get his knees under her to push her off, he managed to shift his arm enough to get the middle console open and reached inside. He knew what he was grabbing for, a spare pocketknife he kept in there in case of emergencies. He thought at worst he might have to use it to cut off his seatbelt, not struggle to get it open while being kissed by killer robot.

He managed to get it open, nicking his fingers in the process, and swung it up to stab into Baby's side. It slid down the length of her side, slicing through her skin like it was rubber instead of flesh.

Baby didn't make a sound. She lashed out with her left arm and caught his hand in a grip so tight that one of his fingers popped and started to ache. He didn't give up. He continued to fight even once his head started to pound and vision blurred.

It was true what they said: nobody ever heard anything in this town.