Mable: Sorry this took so long! I'll admit that I've been a bit busy with Going Home in a Box, but I haven't forgotten about this one. ^_^ Perhaps a little nervous about this specific chapter though, so I hope you still Enjoy!

The Broken Circus

Chapter 11: Second Time's the Charm

If there was one thing Mike did, it was stand by his word. Especially in a case like this where he was at his wit's end. Something had to be done and it looked like he was going to have to do it. Though not alone.

Though that had a double meaning when he noticed an out-of-place car parked down the road. He narrowed his gaze at it before asking, "Was that car parked out here when you and Charlie came by?"

The puppet's head slowly rose from the passenger's seat and peeked out the window. He turned his head until he spotted the car and focused in. It looked like there was someone inside, but he couldn't get a good look at them.

"…No. It wasn't," he said. His voice was tinged with suspicion.

"Could be an unmarked police car," Mike warned. He turned to look back at Sammy. Sammy turned his head around to stare back. Neither said anything for a long moment. Then with a sigh of defeat, Mike continued pulling into the Circus Baby's parking lot and drove around back. "Let's just get in quick."

"You've seenhow quickly I've gotten a door open," Sammy remarked as he boldly flung open the car door and smoothly pushed himself out. He had only just regained his ability to levitate and briefly faltered before catching and raising to natural height again, barely resting on his legs. He was strong enough, he decided, and looked towards the back door with a gaze growing cold.

"Yes, I have… but this time we're breaking the law, so let's actually be quick," Mike retorted. Sammy rolled his eyes and then head so he could look back and watch the man get out of the car. He grabbed his taser and flashlight before striding around the car and up to the back door with a face of fierce determination. He looked so alive, so ready to fight that it was hard not to admire him. Until he glanced over. "What's up?"

It was only then that Sammy realized he was staring. He quickly averted his gaze, trying to ignore the tightening of his spools. "Nothing. Thinking is all."

A teasing smirk came to Mike's lips. "Just can't keep your eyes off me, can you?"

"This isn't really the time or place for that," Sammy lightly scolded. He ghosted past to deal with the door. "…But no, I can't."

Mike's brows shot up as he watched the Puppet fiddle with the door. That was an unexpected result from an attempt to lighten the mood. He finally turned away so he could keep an eye out down the alley and make sure nobody or nothing snuck up. Though almost as soon as he turned away, he heard the sound of the door opening and turned back to see Sammy standing in front of an open doorway, the door thumping against the walls.

He almost expected Sammy to be at least a little smug, but the other was dead serious as soon as that door was open. As Mike walked up beside him, he acknowledged him with only two words.

"Stay close."

Then he drifted inside, leading Mike into the back hall of Circus Baby's Pizza. Nothing had changed since the last time he had been here. Except that the security door was closed again. He stopped outside of it and stared like he was boring holes through it, trying to see if Charlie was inside. Knowing that by all likelihood she wasn't.

"This was where it happened. I threw the breaker to open the door but was blindsided before I could get back to her. She was attacked by Baby in her human disguise… I eventually got to her, but I let her get the upper hand, and Charlie couldn't get us out in time…" Sammy voice fell with guilt. "She had to carry me out. I slowed her down…"

"You didn't let her get the upper hand. Nobody lets somebody smash their face in with a wrench," Mike said firmly, shutting down that thought immediately. He sent a weary look at the door. "So, that's where Baby's body is?"

"Maybe. Unless they moved it… Which I doubt. I don't believe the police found this back hallway. Or if they did, they didn't care to check it," Sammy answered. He looked over at the back door, which had by now already slipped closed again. Though it wouldn't have automatically locked. This one, however… "I'll have to shut down the power again. I know where the fuse box is, so I'll be quick. Don't go anywhere."

Sammy attempted to teleport right then but found it difficult. It was hard to explain except that something that was usually a fluid exertion was suddenly out of his grasp. This gave the man beside him time to react.

"Whoa, hold up," Mike said. He caught Sammy by the arm before he could disappear, not noticing his struggle. "You split up last time and got blindsided. We're not having that happen again, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Even though Mike said that like the order of events was jumbled, Sammy realized- much to his horror- that he was right. It was him leaving Charlie that allowed Baby to originally get the upper hand and that led to their eventual downfall. Yet he was so willing to do the same thing again without a second thought. The thought was a little scary, that he could make the same slip up twice and lose Mike too.

"You're right…" Sammy said quietly. He reached without looking and took Mike's wrist in a tight hold. "Stay closer."

Mike gave a nod. The time for lightening the mood was over, now they couldn't afford anything except complete focus. So, he kept his flashlight steady and lit the way as they turned and went to the walk-in fridge door.

The latch on the other side was secured but using memory and focus Sammy was able to open it relatively easily. This time Mike took the lead in stepping through the door first. The Puppet let him do so without a fight, keeping a close eye past him and scanning the refrigerator. It was relatively unchanged. If anything had been moved, food or boxes, they weren't significant enough to be noticed.

Sammy got the next door open too and tried to slip through, only to be held back so Mike could reach his arm through and scan the kitchen with his flashlight. There was no sign of the mock puppet that he had been told about, much to both of their relief. They continued through, then into the hallway, and finally into the front room. It was easier to see in there so the flashlight was kept low to not tip off anyone outside.

"It's gone," Sammy said. Mike looked to him and he pointed towards an empty spot on the floor. "That was where the puppet box was. Well, was before it rolled over here, tipped over, and crawled back that way and into the hallway," Sammy explained, turning in place and following the path with his finger, giving Mike a good idea of where it had gone.

"Huh. How much damage did you do to it?" he asked curiously.

"Not as much as I wanted to… But I must've done more than I thought since it's off the showroom floor," Sammy mused. He led him over to the curtains beside the stage, side glancing at the on-stage band the whole time. "Keep an eye out?"

"You got it," Mike answered, also watching the bots, and not trusting them for a second. He kept his eyes on them as Sammy drew back the curtain and opened the panel.

Which meant that he noticed when a strange light suddenly started reflecting off the front of the clown that resembled Circus Baby. His head snapped to the source of it and his eyes popped open as he noticed what looked like flashlight light outside the front doors of the pizzeria.

"Someone's coming. Get down," he hissed. Though he grabbed Sammy by the shoulder and dragged him to the floor with him. He crouched down and clicked off his flashlight then tried to shield Sammy as best as he could.

It looked like there were two flashlights and while he was panicking on the inside there was also a sliver of hope that it was just some of Charlie's friends poking around outside and not Baby herself, or someone much worse. Neither of them heard a car pull up, so it could've been anybody. Especially since they couldn't see the door at this angle.

Mike felt Sammy's hands slide protectively onto his shoulders and could tell how tense he was. So, he reached up and rested his own hand on one of them and waited for whatever was coming.

Which was a huge wakeup call when there came a knock on the door. For a split second or two Mike almost was relieved, because he was almost convinced that it was Charlie's friends who spontaneously showed up. It could've easily been Jessica and John, tipped off by something Sammy said and showing up at the last moment to help. Those thoughts were dashed by a knock and a call through the closed doors.

"Hurricane police department! Come to the door, we just want to talk!"

Inwardly he realized that his suspicions about the car must've been right. Outwardly he swore under his breath. Sammy's fingers tightened into his shoulders, and he could hear the frustrated static growing behind him, and it was only then that it dawned on him that this could be more dangerous than an arrest. If they saw Sammy, if Sammy felt threatened, if they felt threatened, this could all spiral out of control.

So, Mike decided to begrudgingly make a sacrifice that he didn't want to make.

"Go hide in the car," he whispered. The Puppet straightened in surprise, static silencing.

"But what about you?"

"Me?" Mike said through a tight, tense, humorless smile. "I'm totally screwed."

And that was how Mike ended up in a holding cell at the Hurricane Police department. There was other stuff too, such as a very brief questioning behind Circus Baby's before the cuffs went on and he took a quiet ride in the back of an unmarked police car. They assured him that he wasn't technically being charged yet, just detained and questioned. Not that it would be much better when he knew what was coming.

And that was Clay Burke, who appeared just in time for Mike to not hear him but just look up and see his face through the window in the door. He immediately dropped his head again and felt like he could die from embarrassment.

He remained steadfast and silent until the chief opened the door and stepped into the room. It wasn't typical procedure, but this wasn't a typical case. The older man was literally staring him down as he slowly looked up at him.

"What happened?" Clay bluntly asked.

"What do you think happened?" Mike flatly replied. "I got caught."

Clay clasped a hand over his face and then pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked like an exasperated father who was posting his son's bail after his first arrest, which made the situation all the more uncomfortable. The was probably the one and only time Mike was ever glad that his parents weren't around to see this. It was bad enough having to explain himself to Burke.

"How did you get in?" Clay asked lowly. Not even removing his hand when he asked.

"Sam let me in."

Now his head shot up and he looked at Mike with newfound startlement. "Sam? You mean Sammy, Charlie's Sammy. Is he still there?"

"That's right. Hopefully he's in my car, that's where I told him to hide before I got tossed in the cruiser and brought over here," Mike answered. This did nothing to alleviate Clay's concerns and his face hardened with scrutiny, but not suspicion.

"What in God's name were you thinking taking him down there? Not only did you intrude on an active crime scene, you took him back to the same place he and Charlie were attacked and set yourselves up for the same thing to happen again. What made you think that was a good idea? Sammy I understand. I can't imagine how Sammy must feel right now, but I know you know better. Which means that I know you didn't say no."

Mike was surprised. Not at being reprimanded, but how protective Clay seemed of Sammy. Someone he barely knew except through second hand and that one incident with the Butchers. That surprise was quickly replaced with defensiveness.

"Someone had to do something. Look, I know you guys are doing whatever you can on the squeaky-clean side of things, but every day you don't find Charlie and those kids, the closer we get to the end of the line," Mike pointed out.

Clay raised a brow. "What do you mean, end of the line?"

"Five days, five kids, this whole pattern they've got going on. What happens when they run out of kids? What are they going to do then? Because they're planning on doing something, and this letting kids go thing is to draw attention to it."

Clay said nothing because Mike had hit his own concerns directly on the nose. He was absolutely right, but that didn't excuse what he did, and he wasn't done.

"You should be thanking me. Don't even act like you wouldn't be down there doing the same thing if you weren't a public figure," Mike whispered harshly. Clay was silent and he impatiently tossed up his hands. "If I've got to stay the night in jail then that's fine, but someone has to go down and get Sammy. Either I get my phone call or you phone Jessica. She's the only one he'll go with."

"That's not necessary. From what Dunn said, there was no sign of forced entry and you told them you found the back door unlocked," Clay said and half-asked, and Mike nodded. "So that's trespassing, and since we can't get ahold of the owner you don't have to worry about him pressing charges. I can work with that."

This took Mike entirely off-guard once more and he spoke up as Clay turned to leave. "So, wait. You're bending the system for me? You're letting me go?"

"No, I'm bending the system for Sammy. I'm half tempted to leave you here overnight for pulling this stunt," Clay said in a scolding tone. He walked back to the door, stopping long enough to look back and add, "Sit tight. I'll be back."

Funny, but Clay turning him lose didn't exactly numb that feeling of embarrassment. If anything, it was like he was having to have a father-like, but not related, figure pay his bail. Like a stepfather, equally mortifying.

It was almost an hour before Mike was released and found himself being driven back to Circus Baby's in the passenger side of Clay's car. The drive was even more uncomfortable than the confrontation in the jail cell if that was even possible. It was tense, like they were both waiting for the other to speak, but neither was willing to break the silence for the longest time.

That was, until: "Did you find anything?"

If Mike was feeling smugger, he might've made a comment on this, but this wasn't the time or place for it. He was too tired and frustrated to find even the weakest of humor.

"I was only in there for five minutes before your men showed up. Didn't see anything," Mike said. Using what reserve he had to not replace that 'anything' with something else.

"Didn't see Izzy," Clay clarified. To which Mike nodded. "…If you do see her, don't approach her alone. She's dangerous."

"I'd say so. She's a crazed robot who's completely blended in with the human population."

"I'm going to tell you the same thing I told my son. If we engage her and she gets back to Afton, or he finds out we have her, he will retaliate. As it is he had three hostages and we have no idea why he's keeping them alive, but what I do know is that Afton is a fickle and sadistic man. He won't hesitate to kill them just to punish us. That is why we need to keep from doing anything rash."

Mike inhaled deeply through his nose but said nothing. Clay got the impression that he wasn't nearly as on board as Carlton was. Maybe he would be for what he said next.

"That being said, if she does come back for Sammy, I need you to do whatever you can to incapacitate her."

Mike did a double take and looked at him like he had spoken a foreign language.

"But don't cause enough damage to shut her down. We can't be too sure that Afton won't be alerted if this happens," Clay pointed out.

"…Considering her real body's in the back of Circus Baby's, destroying this one will probably wake that one up. That'll come with its own problems. Especially with, you know, the massive hand claw."

From Clay's furrowed brows, apparently neither Charlie nor her friends told him about the hand claw. Hopefully it got the point across that waking Baby was a bad move, but he doubted it would change the current tactic of wait and see.

This seemed to shut down the conversation until they arrived at Circus Baby's. Mike noticed the unmarked police car was gone and considered pointing it out to Clay, but then decided against it in case he was coming back later tonight. It wasn't his idea to come so early, but Sammy didn't want to come close to midnight, just in case the animatronics inside weren't nearly as dormant as they appeared.

They pulled up behind the building and up to Mike's car which Clay parked alongside. He expected Mike to get out as fast as he could, but the man lingered in the passenger's seat, brows furrowed like he was warring with himself. Then one side won and, with a sigh, he spoke.

"Thanks for getting me off. I know you did it for Sammy, but you and I both know that I've got a track record with Freddy's, and if it was anyone else monitoring the case, they would be looking at me as the prime suspect. So, thank you."

"There's no point in arresting an innocent man no matter who you are. Just take care. Strange things are happening in this town, and I can't help feeling things are going to get much worse before this is over."

"…Cryptic. Have you been talking with Sammy?" Mike asked flatly. Clay sent him a tired look. "I get the message loud and clear. Let me just get my sock monkey and I'll be on my way," he continued, getting out of the car.

"Good. Make sure he's in the car," Clay said. Which was basically a sign that he wasn't leaving until he knew both were in there and driving away.

Mike shut the door and headed over to the car. He clicked on his flashlight, which he had gotten back from the police, and aimed it at the windows expecting to see a white face peek out. Instead, he saw nothing and looked through the driver's window only to realize with a start that the passenger's seat was empty. Not yet panicking but close to it, he quickly looked through the back window and breathed a sigh of relief.

There Sammy was curled up in the floorboards of the back seat. Legs pulled to chest, arms wrapped tight around them, and once Mike tapped on the window be began to slowly unfurl himself. Cute.

When Sammy looked up, Mike could see his mask etched with a frustrated frown and narrowed eyes, which softened when he confirmed it was Mike. Cute.

Mike gave Clay a thumbs up before climbing into the driver's side and starting up the car. He heard movement in the back and glanced into the rearview mirror to see Sammy peeking out of the back. His limbs poised even more spiderlike that usual. He smiled tiredly as he started up the car. Sammy hastily crawled backwards into the passenger's seat and sunk partially into the floorboard.

"He's waiting to make sure we leave. Just be glad he didn't insist on checking the car, because he knows you're in here," Mike explained, knowing he was probably confused. "We'll head home and sneak back up later."

"There's no reason to. I already searched the building," Sammy remarked. Turning over in the seat and crossing his arms in another pout, oblivious to the reaction of the man in the driver's seat until the car stopped with a jolt.

"…What?"

Mike brought the car to a dead stop at the exit of the parking lot and turned to him, ignoring that Clay's car was close behind. Sammy looked over quickly to see the look of exasperation and disbelief on his face.

"I told you to wait in the car," Mike said.

"I know," Sammy said.

"Baby could've been hiding out in there and we just hadn't found her. She could've come after you the second I was gone."

"I know," Sammy said a little more meekly. He turned to look back at Mike, revealing a look of apologetic remorse on his mask. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't wait."

Mike's mouth tightened and he took a breath before looking back towards the road and beginning to drive. As much as he wanted to repeat everything Clay said to him to the puppet, like himself he was sure he already knew it all.

Sammy kept his head down for most of the drive and only lifted it again once they started closing in on the apartment.

"I got past the security door. Baby's body is still in there. Unresponsive, connected to some system of wires and control modules. That must be how she is controlling this new form. She's not possessing it, more so projecting control with this machine. Which I highly doubt she built or set up alone. Baby's clever, but she doesn't have that kind of technical knowledge."

Mike hummed but didn't say anything else.

"She was defenseless, helpless, I could've sabotaged her right then. I could've taken her apart piece by piece… But I didn't. I didn't even touch her."

Mike sent him a quizzical look and found Sammy too busy staring out the window to meet his gaze. "Why not?" he asked.

"Because even though she overpowered me, this android body she's controlling is much weaker than her original. Keeping her confined to it is only in our benefit… If I would've woken her up, we would've had a much more serious problem."

"Good point. Same thing I thought when I was talking with Clay," Mike agreed. "…Maybe we can even use that to our advantage. I bet she loves having a real looking human body. We ever get her in a jam, we can hold that over her."

"Which one do we hold over her again?" Sammy asked with the tiniest sliver of amusement.

"Whichever one we can pick up."

Sammy gave a soft chime. So soft that Mike could actually hear him mimicking a chuckle underneath it, which was usually covered by the melodic laughter. He was definitely trying, but his heart was only partially in it.

They fell back into silence until the car pulled up outside the apartment. At first Sammy made no move, so Mike reached into the backseat floorboard and got the throw blanket they used to get him in and offered it over. The Puppet finally snapped out of his trance and smoothly draped it over himself as the man got out and came around the car to pick him up. There were no words exchanged, just a solemn silence.

As upset as Mike was earlier, once they were inside his concern went straight to Sammy, who seemed to be falling back into depression. The puppet rose out of his arms and Mike turned to shut and locked the front door. He turned back to find Sammy listlessly folding up the blanket and dropping it onto the armrest of the chair, not reacting when it slid off and fell to the floor.

Mike stared at that fallen blanket for a second before looking up at the puppet's back. "What's on your mind?"

"Her," Sammy answered. He tightened his hands on his arms. "It's always on her."

The man didn't have anything to say to that. It wasn't like he was surprised by the answer.

"…Have you heard of a twin bond?" Sammy quietly asked. He didn't give Mike a chance to answer. "They say twins can tell when the other is hurt or needs help. I don't know if that's true, but I'm a curious case. Sometimes I see things I'm not supposed to… Sometimes I show Charlie things I shouldn't be able to. That was how we found each other when I was in that bear," he explained.

Mike whistled. "That's a pretty powerful tool you've got there. Better than two cans and a string."

"It is. Or, well, it was. I hadn't really used it since then, not intentionally, but sometimes I swore I could feel when something was wrong… But now, try as I might, I can't feel her at all. No dreams, no nightmares, nothing," Sammy said quietly. He curled further into himself as his music box twanged with pain. "Nothing at all."

There was a long period of ominous silence.

"When I first reached out to Charlie it was out of desperation alone. I expected her to let me down like everyone else. To see me as a robot, less than human, not as a real person, but… but she didn't. She welcomed me with open arms- something I had dreamed about but had never gotten from anybody. She put aside her life so we could be a family again. She's did so much selfless for me, for everyone… And now she's gone."

"Don't start thinking like that. You've been busted for days-."

"I'm fine now… For the most part," Sammy interrupted. He shook his head. "Even when I was weakened inside of that bear, I could reach out to her. Why not now? Unless… Unless."

"…What about what you said earlier? About you being a special case. What if you are a special case?" Mike asked. Sammy turned to look back in confusion and the man pointed at his chest. "What if this isn't a twin bond thing and instead some kind of paranormal puppet thing, and the reason you can't reach her isn't because she's gone, but because something's blocking the signal. If she- pardon the bluntness- if she was dead, wouldn't her spirit just come visit you?"

"…I mean, that is a good point…" Sammy considered it a moment. "Unless she's been trapped in a new body. Afton was very aware of how we became like this. He knew what he was doing."

"You can't keep thinking like that. You're going to drive yourself crazy thinking like that."

"I know… I'm sorry. You raise a lot of good points," Sammy admitted. He didn't sound too convinced though. "Obsessing like this isn't helping anyone, it's just clouding my judgement and making it harder to focus. Finding Charlie is more important than standing here thinking of all the things he might've done to her. I just… I just can't stop thinking."

"You're going to work yourself up into a panic again. Look, you only just got yourself up and off the couch. I can still see the cracks in your mask," Mike insisted. "I can't tell you to not worry, but something's gotta give, and if it's not you then it's going to be your face."

"I can't help it. I can't stop thinking about it. Thinking about her," Sammy lamented. He clasped his hands over his eyes, digging his fingers around the edge of his mask. "Was this how she felt when I was taken…?"

"Stop that," Mike said more firmly. He was about to come over and pry his hands off of his mask, but he didn't want to manhandle him in this fragile state. "…How about we take a break and talk about what happened yesterday."

Sammy's head snapped up and out of his hands at the unexpected comment and it cut the discordant tuning off mid-twang. "What… What about yesterday?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Mike said quietly. Somehow saying it in a way both firm and gentle. "Come on, we're adults here. Let's talk about the kiss. Otherwise, it's just going to be hanging over our heads."

This was a little too much for the puppet to bear and he nervously wrung his hands. It might've gotten his mind off of that negative spiral, but this wasn't exactly a clean topic. It took him a long few seconds to formulate what he wanted to say. Mike was patient, letting him take as much time as he needed, but not letting him off the hook.

"…Perhaps it's better if we don't. I wasn't thinking straight, I just let my emotions take over… Not too differently from how I am now, actually," Sammy quietly insisted.

After looking at the puppet's back for a long moment he dared to ask, "And what emotions were those?"

He knew he had the puppet snared instantly, both from how Sammy raised his head to how he was unable to formulate an answer. Mike was definitely not backing down now.

"Alright, so it was a mistake. That's fine, I can live with that. I just want to know why your first instinct was to kiss me," Mike coaxed. The puppet was silent a little too long and he was growing antsy, his palms tingling like they were about to sweat. He slowly clenched them and steadied himself before pushing further. "Let's stop playing around, Stripes. We both know something's going on here."

Sammy head slowly turned, though not enough to look back at Mike. "What's that…?" he asked tacitly.

"Don't pretend you don't feel it. There's something going on between us," he boldly pointed out, gesturing between them. "I know it's not just me, you're definitely flirting back. And for the record, I don't know when I started doing it."

"…Not just me," Sammy repeated. He straightened a little more, head turning forward, seemingly process the would-be confession. "You mean you… You feel something?"

"Sure, I feel something," Mike said. He licked his lips nervously and took the plunge. "I felt something during that kiss too. I'm just trying to figure out what that was."

Sammy made a noise akin to releasing a breath and his rigid shoulders seemed to slump. He might've been trembling too, but it was hard to tell when he was already breaking into a sweat. He wasn't even sure how to read this reaction.

"Stripes?... Sam?" he asked. That was what finally did it.

Suddenly Sammy spun around with his hands coming up like to catch Mike's face, but they stopped right before they could touch his skin. His eyes widened in surprise at the motion, staring back at the mask that was now just above him and very, very close. He almost expected them to meet again, but instead Sammy's trembling hands came up to gently hold his face. His fabric fingers petting his cheeks in feathery caresses.

"Mike~," Sammy trilled, his voice rolling melodically as he spoke. "I think you know how I feel about you. I adore you. I adore you in a way that's terribly wrong and so wonderfully right. If things were different…" He trailed off momentarily before finishing. "I wish things were different because you are wonderful and everything I could want… But because I'm like this, nothing I can ever have."

He was still smiling but it was a sorrowful one. His stripes started to look glossy as he confessed his adoration.

Mike barely heard any of it because his heart was pounding in his chest through the whole thing. He was pumped up and ready to go, to do something, but he didn't know if it was to bolt or to start spilling his guts on the spot.

Only for the end to deflate any of that. It wasn't even a rejection, but a depressing reminder that he wasn't talking to a human being. He was talking to a human-sized puppet, and no matter how much he didn't care about the difference it wouldn't make it disappear. Mike was, as usual, stubborn. Sammy took his silence as an allowance to step back, Mike caught his shoulders before he could.

There was a voice warning in the back of his head that he could ruin everything by doing this, but he didn't want to stop. Part of him wanted to give Sammy a taste of his own medicine, the other part just wanted another taste of that tingling rush of adrenaline and endorphins. So, he started to pull him back in, taking notice that the puppet made no effort to resist or pull away.

Lips touched porcelain once more and it was just as bizarre as last time. They were firm, cool, the glossy texture of normal porcelain and yet shifting and moving against his like skin. It was beyond logic, just another example of how unreal this all was. How as human as Sammy acted, he was still something else entirely. It was exciting. Even more so now that Mike had a chance to experience it without being caught off-guard.

Sammy didn't need any more encouragement to slink his arms around Mike and pull him close. His warm and velvety fabric was welcoming in a way both like and unlike skin, and this time he didn't suddenly realize what he was doing and pull away. This meant he was getting the full feel of it, and it was so wild to realize that there was so much inhuman about it- the fabric, the porcelain, the fact Sammy was towering over him- and yet still felt perfectly natural.

Sammy must've really had him hooked. It wasn't like he hadn't noticed how friendly they were, but he didn't realize it ran this deep. In the back of his mind, Mike knew there was so much wrong with this, but he found it really hard to convince himself that this was as depraved as it should've been.

Eventually he drew back, but he didn't get far. Sammy was still tangled around him and immediately leaned back in to rest his mask against Mike's cheek. Meanwhile, Mike took a moment to get his bearings and decide what he wanted to say.

"Did you really mean all that?" Mike asked. The Puppet nodded against him and that was what sealed it for him. "…Do I look like the kind of person who cares about "right" and "wrong"? Life's screwed me over without my help, I'm not going to start questioning myself now," he said in a hushed tone. His words gentle, as though afraid he would scare the other off. "Who says it's wrong anyway? You're pretty much the only person whose opinion matters. What do you think?"

"I… I don't think we could. Can you imagine if Charlie found out? Or her friends? Or Clay Burke? They could think I'm manipulating you or threatening you. Or they could think that you're taking advantage of me. This is a delicate situation and as much as we might want to… want to…" Sammy seemed to have an epiphany as he pulled back, sorrowful smile dropped to surprise. "Wait, were you really considering it?! You said- you would actually want us to be a- be… us?!"

"I think that's what I meant by 'I don't care if it's wrong'," Mike said, a smirk slowly appearing at seeing the flustered puppet. "And who says anybody has to know?"

"My sister would have to!"

"Charlie doesn't strike me as the type who's ever going to hate you for anything. You could eat me, and she'd help you bury whatever was left and still sleep with her door unlocked," Mike pointed out. Sammy got a somewhat disturbed look at the mental image. "My point is that I just…" Both his smirk and joking tone dropped as he tried to put the rash thoughts into words. "…There is no point, I just want to. You're something special, Stripes. How can I say no to that?"

Sammy took a long moment to consider this. All the while studying Mike's face with an uncertain and incisive look, as though searching for something. What that something was being revealed in his next question.

"…You're not just going along with this because of what's happening with Charlie, are you…?" Sammy asked. His voice falling into timidness and doubt. It was downright heartbreaking how little confidence he had that he could be wanted.

"I'll admit that I started this conversation trying to distract you, but it's taken a life of its own. Everything I'm telling you, here and now, is completely true," Mike swore. Sammy believed him, though that wasn't to say he wasn't still shocked.

"I… I meant every word too, but I can't… I'm not sure if we should… Your life would be- I wouldn't be-…" Sammy began to tick with nervousness. It was all happening a little too fast, which Mike recognized as well. After a moment of watching the animatronic fight himself, he stepped back in.

"I'll tell you what we'll do. Let's just keep this like this for now," Mike offered. He reached for Sammy's hand and laced his fingers in with the dark fabric ones. "And once Charlie's home and this whole thing is over and done with- and she is coming home- then we can decide where this is going. What do you think about that?"

"…Yes." A small, tentative smile reappeared on Sammy's mask. "L-Let's do that… For now," he reiterated, clasping Mike's hand in his.

It should've felt awkward at this point, and it did a little, but not as bad as either was expecting. The puppet gave a rolling trill of bubbling delight and leaned in to press his forehead back to Mike's. His mask was still cool in contrast to the other's face which had quickly heated up.

"Will you take me home?" he asked.

"Gee, that's a great sign," Mike retorted. To which the puppet chimed.

"No, not like that. I want to check the house again and make sure nothing's been moved. It gives us somewhere to look." He sounded like he was feeling a little better, but he was still just as restless and raring to go. In this case he was able to think rationally on their next step, so Mike was more than a little relieved.

"Then let's get moving. Night's still young," he offered. Just as eager to walk right back out the door even after the ordeals of the night. Sammy really did have him reeled in, but maybe that was one of those things they would deal with later.

It wasn't until he had to drive that Sammy released his hand. Mike had almost forgotten it was there, as though that's where it was supposed to be. He would have to think about the implications of that later.

...

Clay didn't return to the police station. After dropping off Mike, he made a quick call to inform them that he was heading home and then did so. The whole drive he had an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach. One formulated from a mix of stress and microwavable lasagna, and neither was settling anytime soon. He knew getting home wasn't much of an escape either. The best he would have is to pop a few antacids before he returned to his office.

Or that was the plan until he pulled up to the house and noticed something was wrong. All of the lights were off. Even if Carlton went to bed already, which he wouldn't have, he wouldn't have shut every light in the house off. As he drove up, Clay also noticed that Carlton's car had been moved. It was now rolled back enough that it was blocking half of the driveway and the door was open. Clay pulled in as best he could before heading over.

For some reason the driver's seat had been reclined all the way. On closer inspection, Clay noticed something sitting between the seat and the console. Normally stuff Carlton shoved between his seats wouldn't have stood out, but this seemed out of place. He picked it up and pulled it out so he could see it in the light of the streetlight and found that it was a pocketknife. An open pocketknife with a bent blade. A blade that was probably steel.

At this moment, Clay realized something was wrong. Stopping by his car only to grab his flashlight, he headed to the front door and only drew his weapon once he stepped past the threshold.

"Carlton?" he called into the house. There was no answer. "If there's anyone in here, you'd best come out now. I'm armed and I will find you," he called again, this time in a much more threatening tone. He then went still and listened for any sign of movement or the creaking of footsteps. There was nothing.

He wasn't confident enough to put his gun down though and headed further inside. It didn't take him long to realize that the power was out and, shortly afterwards, he found the mess that was made of his office. It wasn't until he found the broken window in the back of the house that he started piecing together what happened. Someone of something had broken in and must've attacked Carlton. From what he was seeing, his son put up a fight.

And now… He was gone. Whatever it was had taken him was gone without a trace, leaving nothing behind except a moved car and a partially ransacked house.

In that moment Clay felt a fear unlike any he had ever known.

Mable: If you look close you can actually see the moment the chapter went off the rails and rode its own rollercoaster. Fun!