Going Home in a Box

by Mable

(Sequel to Can't Go Home Again and Almost Feels like Home) Freddy Fazbear's has returned from the grave and brought something of hatred and agony with it. Their livelihoods on the line, Mike, Marionette, and the others must learn to handle this new threat. This is easier said than done once Foxy finds himself snared by the new location, and the white rabbit now pulling the strings.

79. Chapter 79

Mable: Sorry about the delay on this one, and I hope you Enjoy!

Going Home in a Box

Chapter Seventy-Nine

The first time Michael awoke, his body was being carried. He heard Ennard muttering above him to someone who was down by his legs. The two carrying him along, but he couldn't focus and could barely feel much.

The world went dark again.

The second time he awoke he was staring at a dark red wall stretching above him. He eyed it for a long moment before closing his eyes again and fading out once more.

He briefly roused for a third time at the sound of nearby footsteps.

Sometime between then and when he finally awoke, he felt someone maneuvering him and reaching into his suit. In the back of his mind, he knew it was Ben, so he didn't panic. He just let him do whatever and faded out once more.

Finally, Michael roused enough that he could think. He was staring at the dark red wall again, but this time he recognized the Freddy insignia on it. He was still in the Pizzaplex. He twitched his fingers and found that he had gotten full motor control back, even if he still felt eerily lethargic. Hollow too, colder on the inside.

"Ben?" he asked. His voice was lower than expected and he had to strain to get the volume up. "Ben."

He heard some quick footsteps and Ennard's head popped into view.

"Michael?!" he asked.

Michael rolled his eyes to him and replied with a barely cohesive mumble.

"Michael! Ha, thank GOD!" Ennard gushed. He turned Michael's head to look at him dead on, currently hunched over top of him. "And welcome back to the land of the living, ha ha! Follow my finger."

"Must… I?" Michael gargled. Though he asked this while obediently following Ennard's finger back and forth.

"Don't sass-mouth the doctor," Ennard playfully said. Though it was clear from his tone that he was overwhelmingly relieved. He must've been worried.

Considering that Michael didn't know where he was or what time it was, they could've been here for a while. Considering how hard he blacked out, he could've believed he was out for days, but doubted he was.

"Wha…t happ…ened?" Michael asked. His voice catching and low.

"Remember that wire thing I was talking about and those 'something's' Monty and Jake were talking about? Well, 'something' tackled you and knocked you out cold. THEN it tried getting into your suit, but it didn't get far! I already checked, there's no stragglers. You're good to go."

Well, that explained why his insides felt so strange. At least he didn't have to be away for the checking.

"Where… are we?"

"Sun's room. Moon showed up and helped me carry you up here."

"You're welcome!" Sunny chimed in from somewhere. "And don't worry, it was no trouble at all! You weren't even as heavy as Freddy."

"You regularly tote Freddy around?" Ennard cheekily asked.

"Only when he forgets to charge. We've had some close calls," Sunny said tiredly.

"Freddy likes to live on the edge," Jake, who was also there apparently, chimed in.

"On the edge of a dead battery," Sunny tsked.

All Michael got from this was that he had an audience. He tried to sit up, but Ennard quickly pushed him back down.

"No, don't get up! Heh, not until we make sure you're good to go," he insisted. He gave Michael a pat on the head. One that felt patronizing even though he knew it wasn't.

"What are… What are we going to do about the parts?" Michael got out.

"…Well, uh… You know what? I'll go get 'em! I can get someone to come with me. Moony!" he gestured off towards the daycare attendant.

"What?! There's no way! Nope! Not gonna happen!" Sunny vehemently denied.

"That might be a good idea," Jake offered. There was an audible clatter as Sunny swung his head to look at him. "I mean it! You could lead him right there, and you're the one with security access."

"I didn't want to send them down there in the first place," Sunny huffed, planting his hands on his hips. "No means no!"

"Why do you have to make this difficult?" Jake whispered.

"Because I'm the one taking the fall if something goes wrong," Sunny whispered back.

Of course, both Michael and Ennard heard this. The clown rolling his eyes back before snapping them forward thoughtfully.

"You know who'd probably know his way around Parts and Service? Freddy! I'll go ask him, see if he's up to a little exploring," Ennard offered.

To which both former and current daycare attendant looked to him in surprise.

"Wha-WHAT! No, no! That would be a TERRIBLE idea! You can't- He's very busy- he's a single father! And- you can't just- uh- UGH, fine! Fine, I'll take you down there! FINE!" Sunny exploded with exasperation.

Ennard gave a sly side-eye and a subtle smirk. "Thought so," he said under his breath.

"Do you really want to… want to go down there after that. After… whatever thatwas. That rabbit woman is still down there," Michael warned.

"Yeah, but I would really love to get a one-on-one with that rabbit woman again. Something tells me I won't get cold feet this time," Ennard said, his voice dipping lower with every word.

Michael laid his head back tiredly. "Don't. I don't want you going anywhere near her."

"But what if I've got no choice? She's got Scott hostage and my twin brother Iron Guts is trying to gnaw off Sun's face. What then?"

Michael's tired eyes became a little more alert as he stared distantly at the ceiling.

"If she ever lays a hand on Scott, you break it," he said sharply.

That was a clear answer if Ennard had ever gotten one. Leave her alone, don't pursue, and if she pursues then make her regret it.

Meanwhile Sunny had a finger poised as he was prepared to chime in only to be struck silent with that sinister comment. He looked to Jake who gave a sort of unsure shrug.

"Oh boy…" Sunny mumbled and dropped his head in his hand.

"You've got it, Boss," Ennard said with a wink. Though he followed with a secure pat to the shoulder. "Don't worry about me, I've slithered my way out of worse. And I'll be with Moon Man! I know I can outrun him if things go south."

"Gee, I can't wait to get down there," Sunny muttered flatly to Jake.

"And you're safe here. There's a bunker door right down that hallway keeping you safe and sound, and we're pretty far from the basement. The most dangerous thing in here are the cobwebs."

Michael didn't care about his own safety. He felt too hollow to give himself a second thought.

"Are you going to be okay if I go?" Ennard asked.

"Of course I will," Michael insisted. "But if you can just wait, I can come with you."

"Mikey, even if you could spring up- spring up right this second, I wouldn't drag you back down there. There's no way."

Michael knew this and yet he still decided to sulk. As though he even wanted to go back down there. He didn't, and he didn't what Ennard to either but just couldn't put up the effort to argue. He just felt so worn out.

"Juuuust take it easy. Oh! And hold onto these for me. Don't want to lose 'em." Ennard handed over the radio and the Handunit.

Busy work, Michael assumed. Both to keep the electronics safe and to make Michael feel like he was doing something.

"Okay!" Ennard pushed up from the floor and rubbed his hands together eagerly as he turned towards Sunny. He snapped his fingers- mimicking the snap with his voice- and pointed towards the door. "Let's get a'moving! We're burning nightlight!"

"Ngh…" Sunny was clearly second-guessing this, but he dragged himself to his feet and led the way. Ennard followed him out, briefly stopping to look back at Michael, second-guessing his own decision.

But he ended up leaving. Which was fine by Michael. If he stuck around, he would've just felt more self-conscious about all that had happened.

Laying here helpless in this rotten carcass from Freddy's. Michael sighed and lifted a hand up to rest on his head, only to then find himself staring blankly at it. At the old suit hand that was his.

After seeing a human hand in its place, seeing it made his heart drop. Made his heart break all over again. Breaking him all over again.

Michael scoffed at the thought and dug the heel of that palm into his eye.

"God, I'm pathetic," he muttered.

"No, you're not."

Michael yanked his hands back and paused, then turned his head to look in the direction of the voice.

Sitting on a square shaped pillow with one leg crossed, the other an endo leg that didn't match his frame, and with a makeshift control panel resting in his lap was masked animatronic with a flimsy black cloak. He could see the similarities between his build and Sunny's, though the fact that he knew they were there made it easier to spot.

It had to be Jake, who hadn't headed out with Ennard and Sunny apparently.

"I'm guessing you didn't know I was still here," Jake said.

"You guessed correctly."

"Sorry. I wasn't trying to sneak around. I just live here," Jake lightly joked.

Michael rolled his head back into place and stared distantly at the ceiling. He didn't answer.

"But you're not," Jake continued. "What that was… Whatever that was, you couldn't have fought it off."

"That's not it. Though having to get dragged back up here certainly doesn't help my confidence," Michael muttered. "This whole plan was a wreck the moment I got down here. I should've known better. My sister herself called it before I walked out the door and I still walked right into it."

"You can't beat yourself up about this-."

"I can and will."

"Uh… Well, I guess you can do anything you set your mind to…" Jake said awkwardly.

What followed was a very awkward silence. Though Michael was too exhausted to acknowledge it. Jake rubbed the back of his neck and readjusted the panel in his lap to the side.

"Soooo, I heard what you and Ennard were talking about earlier," Jake gently began.

"…I forgot all about that," Michael mumbled.

"It's no big deal! In fact, I was thinking about it and… you know, we kind of hit it off. I don't meet a lot of new people here who I can really talk to. There's Sunny, but other than that I have to stay hidden most of the time unless someone visits, and they spend more time with him than me-."

Michael had turned his head suddenly, unnoticed by Jake, and was staring wide-eyed. He couldn't possibly be suggesting what he thought he was suggesting.

"-and there's Charlie, but she's got a life. Not that you don't have a life! But maybe we could try to be friends. Sure, we just met, but I think we could get along. We could exchange technician tips! Or you could give me some."

Oh, he wasn't. He was suggesting a completely innocuous friendship. Thank goodness.

"That might not be such a bad idea. I barely know you, but what have I got to lose?" Michael asked. He studied Jake for a moment, his eyes lowering to his panel. He struggled to sit up. "What is that?"

"What? Oh, this! Here, let me show you."

Jake got up and hurried over before sitting down beside him, or above him, and setting the panel back in his lap. He angled it toward Michael.

"This is my personal workstation. I use it to look through the cameras and hack into Staff Bots on the grid."

"How?" Michael asked.

"I've got some leftover equipment on hand."

Jake reached up and opened the panel on his arm before plugging it into his oversized Handunit. The small screen lit up, as did Jake's eye as he uploaded himself into the panel.

"And now all I do is find a nearby Staff Bot who's on the grid and hook in. Easy as that!"

"Fascinating," Michael said with no exaggeration.

It really was. For the first time since he had gotten to this monument of consumerism, he was truly curious in the technology being displayed to him. The idea that an animatronic could attach to the security system- astounding.

"Thanks!" Jake sounded genuinely giddy at the chance to show off. "Here, watch me load into the Nanny…"

Meanwhile, Sunny and Ennard were making their way through the theater. So far things had been quiet- that was, until Sunny suddenly rounded on Ennard and stared him down. Ennard stared back.

"What's that look?" he asked. His eyes narrowed in amusement. "And by that I mean, what look are you giving me that I can't see because of those radiant pearly whites?"

"Don't butter me up now, Mr. Lemon-Lime. I want to know what you're planning with Jake." He pointed to himself and then poked Ennard in the chest. "I heard YOU talking about some sort of scheme with him and Jake, and I want to know what it is right now, or you can say bye-bye to those parts!" Sunny said and crossed his arms.

Ennard jokingly winced. "Ooo, you're gonna do Charlie dirty like that?"

Sunny kind of froze up for a second before turning his head up. "It's your choice, so my hands are clean!"

"Okay, okay. I give," Ennard said with a light chuckle. He put his hands up in defense. "There's no scheme. I was just trying to set them up."

It took a second for that to sink in, then he jolted in surprise.

"Wha-but-EXCUSE ME?!" Sun sputtered.

"Yup! I know you're not with Jake, you're with Freddy. So, he's free! And Mikey's free, and here's the kicker- they're both into this whole tinkering with stuff thing. Small world!" Ennard grinned in a way that seemed too mischievous for a matchmaker. He held up a finger on both hand and slid them together. "So, I just thought if I gave them a little nudge, maybe something would happen~."

Sunny stared at him silently. Then he clasped a hand over his face and laughed lowly.

"Ohoho, you are banned from the daycare. Soooo banned."

"Aww, come on! Wouldn't it be just a little cute," Ennard offered, pinching his fingers together.

"NO! As a matter of fact, no it wouldn't! Because Jake's-… Jake, and you're trying to set him up with some weird guy in a dirty, old Bonnie suit!"

"Hey, that's just the suit! Underneath that suit, Michael's a heck of a guy! He's smart as a whip, courageous to a fault, and when he cares about someone, you better believe he cares with his whole heart!" Ennard laid out.

"Then why don't you date him?" Sunny mumbled and huffed. He spun around on his heel and crossed his arms again like he was pouting.

Ennard couldn't help but grin wickedly and lean in over his shoulder.

"You're only making me want to do it more."

"Ugh!" Sunny tossed his arms with exasperation before thrusting his fists down at his sides. "Let's just get this over with!"

"Now that's the spirit! Let's go get some feet."

Sunny begrudgingly led Ennard all the way downstairs and into the dregs of the basement. Ennard was expecting to catch sight of Vanny tailing them or hear just the faintest sound of slithering, taunting him from a distance. But it was silent, there were no followers, they were alone.

Ennard would never let Moon know that he was still hunting the rabbit. He scanned each hallway eagerly, awaiting a glimpse of her, but she didn't show. Even though he knew it was better that she didn't, he was disappointed.

But he was never that great with impulse control. He wouldn't have been able to handle the temptation of hunting her down and giving herself something to be scared of.

He shook those thoughts off when he started to get twitchy. He had to keep a clean head. The last thing he needed was to put himself in danger- with the mutant, not the rabbit chick- when the only one here to rescue him was the daycare clown. Sure, he looked like he could put up a fight, but so did Michael…

Eventually they passed the hallway that they had split off into while chasing Vanny. It reminded him, and he broke the looming silence.

"You know, we ran into that rabbit chick right back there," he said, pointing his thumb back behind them. "She jumped the fence and came down this way."

Moon hummed in response.

"There were a bunch of those bots clogging up the way and… Wait a minute… Those Staff Bots can't get up on their own, can they?"

"No," Moon said. His red eyes darted around the hallway.

"…Well, that's not creepy! Ha ha, let's keep going," Ennard said.

But in reality, the feeling itching at him wasn't fear. Sure, this thing- whatever it was- was definitely a threat. It was pretty much just another him, down to the handling electrocution like a champ thing. Down to the forcing itself inside-…

"It was so sudden, y'know," Ennard continued. "We were just runnin' around chasing rabbits and BOOM, something crawls outta nowhere and jumps Michael. And I was in the other room, so I got there late to the party and just barely yanked the thing off'a him before pulling him out. Rabbit chick had split, I had only a guess of where I was, and then you showed up. Which, thanks again. There's no way I could've carried him out alone without dragging him."

"It's my job to keep things in order," Moon cryptically said.

"Uh huh. By the way, how'd you know where we were?"

"Mmmnh, those Staff Bots set off security alerts when they were tampered with. I was the nearest security bot, so I handled it myself."

"Gotcha! Makes sense." Ennard slowed a little more. "I just… I don't get it. What that thing is. Is it another me? Or not ME, but like some kinda amalgam running around down here? Was it from Afton Robotics? Why the- what was it doing to Michael? It had him down and- I thought I lost him. Again!"

"I warned you about coming down here," Moon said matter-of-factly.

"…Yeah, you did."

Moon glanced over to watch as Ennard's eyes slowly rolled onto him.

"What?" he asked.

"That's what I'm wondering. What?" Ennard mimicked. "Is it, and how'd you know it was down here?"

"It's another one of Fazbear's dirty little secrets," Moon grumbled. He turned his head to look ahead again.

"Yours too."

"What are you getting at?" Moon snapped.

"What I'm getting at is that both you and Monty know there's something down there, and you know what it is, but you keep being dodgy. And all I know is that some hunk of wires tried to strangle my friend to death- it was INSIDE him! And I want to kn-knoww what-t it iss sso st-stop playi-ing around and tell me."

Moon wasn't prepared for the change in voice, and he certainly wasn't prepared for the change in demeanor. All that frustration that Ennard had kept neatly tied up spilling out like wiry guts through his teeth. He stared down the jester with no joviality and dead seriousness. He was angry and he wanted answers.

So, Moon sighed and caved.

"It used to be an animatronic. Now it just haunts the basement, disassembling Staff Bots and consuming their power. Hooking itself up and draining whatever power it can before the technicians can cut off the supply."

"How do you know that?"

"…A friend told me."

Ennard's eyes widened curiously. "Oh?"

"But keep it between us. You and I both know that if someone- say… Marionette- finds out about this, they will come to look for him. Try to help him. But there is no helping him. Not anymore."

There was a long pause.

"Okay, so, to summarize: you know exactly what it is, where it came from, and ya still didn't think to, I don't know, tell us?"

"I- wh- y- I warned you before you ran off down there!"

"You told us the basement was dangerous! At this point there's a rabbit chick who can fry bots, a bunch of rabid Staff Bots, a bunch of rabid endos- pick your poison! None of those are a problem for Mike and me, but THIS is!"

Moon's hands tightened and were shaking, and it was at that point that Ennard realized there was something else going on. There had to be.

"Just tell me who you're protecting," he said with exasperation.

"Jake!"

"Okay," Ennard sighed, dropping his arms and shoulders.

"Always Jake. I am the only one who will," Moon muttered. After a tense pause he sighed. "And Freddy. Fool hearted Freddy and his rule breaking bridge troll."

"…Who, Foxy?"

"No, the child."

"Gotcha. Yeah, I was thinking that was a weird nickname for a pirate."

So quickly Ennard went back to his own casual speaking, but Moon wasn't entirely convinced now that he could see how well Ennard could cover. If anything, his sudden passiveness was very concerning.

"Listen… You must keep this between us, and maybe Michael if he insists. The others cannot know. Not Charlie, not Freddy, and especially not Mari. If they find out they will try to go find it and nobody else needs to get hurt."

"Consider my lips sealed... For now. But eventually someone's gonna find out that there's something busted up running around down there. You gotta put a leash on that thing! And I say that as a thing that needed to have a leash put on," Ennard said, an edge of annoyance starting to slip into his tone. "I don't get why it's gotta be a big secret. Keeping it a big secret's just going to get more people hurt. You know that, right?"

"…I am aware." Moon turned his head away. "Let me handle it for now."

"Sure."

"And let's get these parts and get out of here. This place is filthy," Moon grumbled. He looked down at the dirty floor that his slippers had been hiking all over. "Ugh, disgusting."

"Oh, I have been in way worse," Ennard said almost proudly.

He let it drop. Not necessarily to let it go but because he knew he wasn't getting anywhere with the Daycare Attendant. Instead, they focused on getting to the correct warehouse.

Ennard then killed a clean twenty minutes watching Moon scuttle and climb searching for the correct box. Even the most casual attempt to peek into a box with immediate correction. Though instead of offended, Ennard couldn't help but be more amused than anything. Watching how comically anal-retentive Moon was reminded him that this was still Sun.

Might've done a little to smooth over the little disagreement from earlier. Or maybe that was just Ennard coming to terms with the fact that the only person to blame for what happened was himself. But he wouldn't dwell on it; he would get the job done, get back to Michael, and make up for the disaster best he could. Well, he would if Moon wasn't taking his sweet time.

Eventually he found the proper box and Ennard dove in to find deconstructed pieces of Daycare Attendant legs. Michael's hunch turned out to be right because just from one look alone, Ennard knew they matched up pretty well with Charlie's own legs. Making them work would be the hard part- and the fun part.

"Ha, PERFECT!" Ennard said as he admired a foot in his hand. He put it back in the box and closed it up before hoisting it under his arm. "We have to go back, Moony. Back to the daycare!" Ennard said, pointing off triumphantly.

Normally Moon would've seen this as Ennard the kooky clown being as oblivious as ever, but now he knew there was something hiding underneath. Underneath that insincere smile Ennard had to be thinking, wondering.

Wondering why he didn't get the parts for Jake. Moon knew he had to be thinking about it, silently judging him. It ate at him until he lost his patience and spoke impulsively.

"Aren't you going to ask me something?" he asked sharply.

"…Nooo?" Ennard asked confused.

"About Jake," Moon clarified.

"Oh yeah…" Ennard tapped his chin thoughtfully before casually asking, "What kind of flowers does he like?"

Moon grumbled and decided that he preferred possible silent judging to any question like that. That was just asking for trouble.

By time they had made it back to the daycare, Moon had swapped out for Sunny yet again but still trailed behind Ennard who jauntily made his way into the theater. He let himself into the propped open poster down, holding it open for Sun who pushed the trashcan propping open aside with his foot and closed it behind them, and then they continued down the hall.

Ennard reached for the doorknob only to stop and round on Sunny with a wicked smile.

"Now we go in to find out that the Bunny Man and the Phantom of the Daycare fell in love while he we gone," he said. Eyes gleaming with mischief.

"Ah ha ha. Ha. So funny," Sunny said with no amusement. He opened the door and strode in. "We're ba-ac-ack!?"

Jake was sitting alongside Michael showing him his control panel. Michael had his Handunit hooked up to the control panel with a cord wrapped in duct tape.

Michael was, in fact, leaning against Jake's shoulder with his head slightly tilted to see the screen, but from this angle- from what Sunny was seeing- from what that silly clown had been saying-!?

"OH ho, that's gotta sting," said clown whispered in his ear.

"Hey," Jake greeted with a wave.

"HEY!" Sunny returned. "W-We got the paRTS!"

"Good job! I knew you could pull it off," Jake complimented. He then subtly whispered to Michael. "He's upset about something."

"How could you tell?" Michael asked dryly.

Ennard came over and opened the box to show him. "I've got the goods, Boss!" he said in an igor-ish voice.

"Good. Yes, I think these will work. We can make them work," Michael said. He still sounded tired as he shuffled around the parts.

"When's her upgrade?" Jake asked.

"We're not sure yet. We won't be doing it until we can put the legs together outside of her body confidently enough to put them inside."

"Makes sense to me."

"Well, I bet you two need to get going! It's been a long, long night and- oh gosh- there's only- let's see- a few more hours before opening! Well, we had fun seeing you! Bye-bye!" Sunny raced out as he swung back open the door.

Michael and Ennard just stared at him for a long moment. Michael with tired exasperation and Ennard with a little too much smugness. Obviously trying to kick them out or not, he did have a point, and Michael started to push himself up. Ennard hopped onto his feet in a second, shoving the box back under an arm and using the other to help him up.

"He's right. We've already cut it close enough as it is," Michael agreed. He reached a hand to Jake, silently asking for his Handunit that was still plugged in.

"Just two more second left on the download. And hey, in the meantime- can I get your phone number?" Jake asked.

"JaKE?!" Sunny asked, the words coming out like through his tight teeth.

Michael could just feel Ennard's expression and chose to ignore it as long as he could.

"Of course. Is there a pen I can use?" Michael looked around for something of the like and caught sight of Ennard with that look, again, though much worse- dilated pupils and all. "Stop that and help me find one."

"It's no big deal. He's not… him," Jake whispered to Sunny with an edge of exasperation.

"But- he- ugh!" Sunny turned his head towards the rabbit and caught sight of Ennard's look. "UGH!"

"We've got markers around here somewhere. I can at least scare up a crayon," Jake said to Michael, totally ignoring Sunny and starting to set his control panel aside.

Sunny rolled his head, like rolling his eyes but even more dramatic, waved for Jake to sit back down, and scuttled around collecting a scrap of paper and a navy-blue marker for him to use.

"What download? Software update?" Ennard asked.

"Maps! Well, some of them. I'm not sure how you're going to pull them up, but they'll be there," Jake answered.

"I'll figure it out. I know that thing better than I know myself," Michael remarked as the market and paper were handed to him. He quickly scribbled down the number. "This is Marion and Mike's home phone number, but I'm never further than five feet away. Save when I get the outlandish urge to run down to some godforsaken mall in the middle of the night."

"Throw in hobo-ing in a daycare storage room and, yeah, welcome to my world," Jake joked. Though far from cynical he sounded much more playfully amused. He took the paper with a 'thank you' and regarded the panel again. "Almost done."

"Sooo, what did you two get into while we were gone?" Ennard asked coyly.

"Did you know Jake can remotely control a Staff Bot?" Michael asked.

"Well, yeah. You knew that too."

"Yes, but I didn't know he could manually plug himself into a Handunit and jump onto their security drone grid."

"…Oh ho, now that IS interesting," Ennard said, his interest piqued and switching quickly onto Jake.

"I could show you," Jake offered. He patted the blanket where Michael had been laying. "Park it here!"

"Jaaaaakke, the time," Sunny warned, tapping on his wrist where a non-existent watch would be.

"Eh, go clean up some shrimp. I want to see this," Ennard brushed off. He plopped down beside Jake. "Show me the whole thing."

"It all starts with this little cord," Jake said faux-dramatically.

"Ooh!"

Despite Ennard's little show, Michael could see the excitement in his eyes. He was genuinely curious, and he surely would be impressed by the end of the display. Michael knew that he was.

But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Maybe it was the huffiness that Sunny was giving off. He decided to poke the bear and approach him.

"Thank you for these. And for keeping an eye on him. I know he can be a bit enthusiastic," Michael said.

"Oh yeah, he's a real bundle of energy," Sunny mumbled to himself. From the motion of his head, he seemed to check and make sure that Ennard hadn't heard him.

Intimidated by him, likely. That at least explained the defensiveness. The guarded posture wasn't just for him then.

But something else must've happened.

"Did something happen while you two were gone?" Michael asked. His voice grew low. "…Did you run back into her?"

"No, but I'm finally up to speed on this little plan of yours. The one that involves Jake," Sunny whispered just as lowly.

Oh. Well, that explained the defensiveness as well.

"Hisplan, not mine. I just met him," Michael pointed out tiredly.

Sunny tilted his head and slumped his shoulders. "Wait, so you're not…?"

"I just met him," Michael repeated.

Sunny continued staring questioningly.

"Which means, no. I'm not."

"Whew! What a relief! I mean, no offense, but you're not exactly his type. He needs, uh, err- well, I don't know! I'll know whenever I meet him or her or whoever, but right now Jake is completely happy right here."

Michael could just hear the denial and strain in that voice and decided he was much too tired to deal with it right now.

Especially when he could understand exactly why Sun would be so against it. He gave the Daycare Attendant some space after that point, knowing he likely wasn't comfortable with him.

It didn't take too long for Jake and Ennard to finish up and for the Handunit to finalize its download. Jake sat aside the panel and got up to lead them out, carefully cradling and handing over the Handunit. He then escorted them out of the loft, signaling for Sunny to stay back, which resulted in another huff.

"Feel free to drop in at any time, guys! Don't worry about Sunny either. It takes him a while to warm up to people, but I appreciate the company. So, door's open," Jake said apologetically.

"Thank you for everything. I wish there was some way to repay you, but I feel like getting out of your hair is payment enough," Michael remarked.

"Aww, come on. You heard him! He said he had a blast!" Ennard said. He reached out and gave Jake a friendly pat on the back.

The bot, unused to being touched by anyone other than Sunny, jumped a little but he recovered fast. Just in time for the clown to lean his masked face in.

"Hey, can I ask you something?" Ennard asked.

"Ben, don't you dare," Michael warned.

"Uh, sure?" Jake agreed.

"Ben," Michael warned.

"So, that wirey guy in the basement. He's your bud, right?"

That was the last question Michael or Jake expected. It caught them both off-guard.

Jake visually flinched in surprise. "My… what?"

"Yeah, so I was having a chat with Moonman about that thing that jumped Michael downstairs and he said it was some busted up thing, said some friend told him it was some old, busted thing, and I just wanted to go ahead and put those two and two together before I walked out. Ya know, so I don't get all the way home and have an "ah-ha!" moment and nothing to do with it. So, yeah, friend of yours?"

Jake looked between him and Michael. Even with his eye glowing so fully there was enough movement to give it away. Then he lowered his head.

"…Yeah… He was a friend of ours."

"Tough breakup?" Ennard asked.

"I don't… I don't really want to talk about it. If it's okay..."

"You've got it, friend! Thank you for taking good care of my buddy here," Ennard chirped, gesturing over to Michael. "And if you ever need ANYTHING, I owe ya one!"

He mimicked a click of the tongue, shot Jake a wink, and thankfully let him go.

"Sure thing. Or no, I- you don't owe me anything. I- I had a good time!" Jake fumbled. Clearly trying to change the subject, but his voice genuinely perked up when he turned to Michael. "Call me! Oh, uh, wait. Scratch that. I'll call you."

"But not tonight," Michael affirmed.

"Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Assuming I wake up, yes."

"Same time tomorrow!" Jake agreed. He started to head back to the poster door, tripping up a little on his way in and waving at them. "Take care! And be careful- the Glamrocks were out in the Atrium last we checked!"

"You got it!" Ennard chirped. Michael simply nodded.

The poster door shut. Ennard turned towards Michael and held his arms out proudly.

"Well, you restrained yourself," Michael said dryly.

"I really did. I could've dragged him right back in there, sat him and Sunny Boy down, and got all the juicy details from them both, buuuut I think we got what we needed," Ennard said.

Indeed, he was holding back. But that was largely because he knew if he kept prying then he was going to get them both totally blocked out.

Michael considered walking himself back in and asking, but he was so tired, and Sunny was so obviously going to gatekeep if they pressed to hard. The babbling Sun managed to stay relatively tight lipped. He had Michael fooled that the only thing bothering him was the matchmaking attempt.

"What do we know about this friend?" Michael murmured.

"Well, we know things didn't end so nice. Miiight be working with Vanny. This is the second time we've caught 'em together, because the first time I saw it on the cameras, it was scooting around with her."

"Might be possessing Vanny, more like," Michael said. "When that thing grabbed ahold of me, I had some sort of vivid hallucination of the diner and- God, just… so many things. And one of those things was Vanny. Or I believe it was Vanny. It had her eyes, but I think it might've been wearing a jacket. And more of an off-yellow color."

"I'm sure she was too after you gave her the scare of her life," Ennard said with a snicker. "What else didja see?"

"…I don't want to talk about it."

"Yeesh. Nobody wants to talk about anything," Ennard said.

Dismissive or not, Michael knew he was concerned because he let it drop. He didn't continue prying or asking. At least, for the moment.

They watched the theater's security door raise up and reveal the bright, bouncy atmosphere of the daycare.

"…I think Marion mentioned a friend, but I can't remember," Michael admitted. He rolled his neck to little relief. "We'll discuss it when we get back. We can't be too certain who may be listening."

"Give ol' Sunny a break, eh? Sounds good to me!"

"And before I forget…" Michael reached into the side of his suit before handing over the radio. "Here."

"Where'd you have this stashed?" Ennard asked.

"You know where."

"You and I both know it wasn't stashed where I think it was stashed," Ennard said playfully, bumping him with his shoulder. Michael rolled his eyes and the clown giggled before eagerly hooking him into a one-armed hug. "Oh, I'm just so happy you made a new friend!"

"Ben," Michael warned.

"No, no, no. I mean it! I'm happy you made a friend," Ennard doubled down. This time his voice not sounding coy at all, just so very excited.

While it made Michael a little self-conscious, it did feel good. He didn't get the impression that Jake was just hanging around out of sympathy but that he too needed the company.

"He is very interesting," Michael agreed.

He wasn't sure if Jake was ever going to call him after he walked out of this Pizzaplex. Odds were that Jake would soon forget all about him, but maybe not.

Michael was still hooked under Ennard's arm as they walked up to the security door. It rolled up to let them out into the Pizzaplex.

And revealing a familiar band of animatronics hanging out right outside waiting. It was so sudden and unexpected that there was no attempt to flee. Ennard could just gawk while Michael got a wearily exasperated look.

Freddy and Roxy were sitting on the planter bench at the base of the column right outside the daycare door. It was comically close to the floor for them, so Roxy had one leg bent and the other stretched out beside her while Freddy just had them bent in front of him, hands resting on his knees making him look like he was crouching. Monty was laying on the other side of him on his belly, his head resting on his own arm beside Freddy, the other dangling to the floor.

Chica was standing in front of the three facing them, her hands on her hips, her fingers tapping on her plating. Eagerly awaiting something, or someone.

As she heard the door opening, she looked back over her shoulder and her eyes landed directly on Ennard. They widened, and then she threw her arms into the air with delight and ran to him, a little skip in her step, and threw herself directly into Ennard's arms. Michael caught the faintest hint of dread in Ennard's eyes before the clown caught the chicken in his arms like it wasn't just a reflex.

"He-Hey, Chickadee! Oh wow, you're all put back together again! I can't bel-lieve it!" Ennard congratulated. Nobody except Michael noticing the stutters in his voice were more than just little ticks- anxiety ticks, maybe. He still gave her a friendly hug like they were old friends before pushing her back by the shoulders. "Lemme take a look atcha."

Chica was eating it up. Making the motion of 'fluffing' her feathers with one hand while resting the other on her hip. Posing to be admired.

"You look great! They did a great job! Heh, almost as good as I did," Ennard cheekily said. He took one hand off her shoulder to bump it with it.

Chica gave a little "Oh you!" wave. She then pointed to her mouth and made a talking motion with her hand before shaking her head and zipping her beak. "I can't talk."

"Yeah, I heard about that. I'm sorry," Ennard said, genuinely sympathetic. His eyes tilting with sadness and remorse before perking up. "But hey, they'll get around to fixing that! And it could be waaay worse. Heh, believe me."

"Yes. You could look like me," Michael said deadpanned.

Only now realizing there was someone else there, Chica leaned over to look. Upon seeing Michael her eyes widened again, though this time her pupils shrunk.

That was a look of fear. Michael recognized it instantly and knew what it had to mean. Like Sunny she had recognized the suit, but not from secondhand recounting. She was a former victim.

Chica ducked back behind Ennard, grabbing his arm and pulling him to try and shield herself behind him. Ennard looked to her in surprise, but Michael was far from it. He was instantly hit with a wave of self-consciousness and dread.

"It wasn't me. I was just trapped in his suit," Michael almost desperately explained. "He… He used me, he fooled me, and then he sealed me away in his place."

"He's telling the truth!" Ennard added, catching on quick.

Chica looked up at Ennard questioningly.

"Yeah, look, I knew this guy before he was in the suit and I met that guy, the Purple Guy, waaaay AFTER he was in this suit. He was hanging out at a red nightmare lake before he drowned."

"Did… Did you say red lake?" Sun asked quietly. Both Michael and Ennard looked back to see Sunny peeking out of the top of the slide, having followed them to eavesdrop.

"That's the part you found weird?" Roxy asked. She walked up, sizing up both of the new animatronics as she did. "What are you two talking about?"

"Chica recognizes the suit- me. She recognizes me as… being someone very vile. A monster. But that is not me. I was simply confined to this suit after my… unfortunate 'accident'," Michael explained.

Roxy's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "So, you're not him?"

"I am not."

"He is telling the truth!" Freddy vouched. He stepped past her and Monty and came up to him. "This is Michael! He is Foxy's older brother. Michael, it is a pleasure to finally meet you! Foxy has spoken about you often- all good things I assure you."

"He has?" Michael asked in mild disbelief.

"He sure has! He's been singing me praises too," Ennard said. By now Chica had moved to his side and was clinging to his arm, but he made no move to push her off.

Michael hesitated before he took Freddy's hand. His grip was firm but not nearly as stiff and robotic as he might've expected from his build.

"I've heard quite a bit about you too. It's good to finally put a face to the name."

"I hope I lived up to your expectations!"

No wonder Gabe was so fond of him. He practically oozed this father-like charm that he and his siblings were deprived of. Though it was probably best to not tell either of them that.

"This is Roxanne Wolf, but we call her Roxy for short, and that is Montgomery Gator, but we call him Monty for short," Freddy introduced. "Roxy, Monty, this is Foxy's brother Michael, and that is Ennard."

"Said they were a couple'a technicians," Monty chimed in. He was finally getting up from the bench and pushed his sunglasses back into place. "That Handunit doohickey checks out."

"Ha ha, guilty as ch-charged!" Ennard said proudly.

Michael held the Handunit up instinctively when his attention turned back to Freddy, who was looking at the object. Perhaps it was worth killing two birds with one stone, he assumed, and he held it up to him.

"Freddy, do you know what this is?"

"Of course I do! That is a handheld controller unit. It is an older model; they do not use those in the Pizzaplex, but much of the technology is the same. It may be compatible with some of our devices. Err, with a few software updates."

Well, if that didn't answer his question then nothing would.

In fact, it was so obvious that someone else took notice. Chica blinked at Freddy and then looked between him and the Handunit and then Michael and Ennard and got a look of realization. She stepped forward- pulling Ennard with her and up to Freddy's opposite side to put him in between her and Michael- and then she pointed to the Handunit, between Michael and Ennard, and then to Freddy.

"I am not sure what you are saying? Do you… Oh! Are you saying I should help them update the Handunit? I would love to! However, I think that is a little out of my expertise. Perhaps we could get Ja- ahem- umm… James, the worker! Yes, I am almost certain there… MUST be a James. It is a very reliable name."

Well, that confirmed Michael's theory that Foxy was the brains of the operation.

Chica shook her head and pointed at him again. Only to get an idea and touch her temple instead, looking at him through narrowed, focused eyes as she sent a message. Nobody else heard it, but Freddy spelled it out for them.

"Me?! A technician?! Oh no, I could not have! I have been Freddy Fazbear for my entire life! Plus, I have been… unsuccessful in any repair attempts. Such as with the door."

Chica, maybe a little exasperated, bent over to look past him and Michael and pointed almost accusatorily at Sunny who had climbed out of the tunnel and was creeping over. His arms shot up like he had a gun aimed at him.

"W-Why are you looking at me like that? I-I don't know anything about technicians! I don't LIKE technicians!" he fumbled.

Chica's eye twitched and she ran a hand down her face.

"Figures," Monty muttered.

"You're certain?" Michael pressed.

"I… am as certain as I can be," Freddy vaguely answered.

"Because there was a technician who went missing here."

Freddy was surprised. "There was?!"

Roxy's eyelids raised like she was lifting her brows. "And how do you know that?"

"Leave this to me," Ennard cut in. "Okay, here we go…" He rubbed his hands together and then rushed out, "Michael's brothers, Foxy and Mari, work at Foxy's Pirate's Cove and are real tight with the owners of Pirate's Cove- you could say they're in bed with them-."

"Ben."

"Anyway, the owners got rung up by the guy running this place, Wight. Freddy, there's the James you were lookin' for."

"Ah yes! That was who I meant!"

"And Wight wants to make this deal with Foxy's that's pretty obviously a way to buy 'em out, but he gets loose lipped and says that a couple of his workers quit. Poof! Didn't even take their last check and disappeared off the face of the earth."

"He said that?" Monty grumbled.

"That's right! And nobody's buying it, but then a little birdie starts spreading around that this technician guy just poofed away! Didn't quit, just amscrayed, and considering what we know about what happened to the last- what- four technicians who disappeared? Yeah, we're taking a guess that this guy's probably floating around down here somewhere. Heh, we ALL float down here, if ya get my drift."

"I haven't the foggiest idea what that's supposed to mean, but I get what you're saying. The technician disappeared and he's probably one of us. And you're right, he probably is," Roxy agreed.

Freddy snapped his head towards her. "Roxy?!"

"Come on, Freddy. You know we don't just appear out of thin air," Roxy scoffed and turned her head away. She then nodded in Monty's direction. "Monty used to work here."

"Thanks fer that," Monty grumbled again.

"Please. Like you don't make it so obvious," Roxy retorted.

"And you?" Michael asked.

"I can't remember," she said shortly. "So, is that why you're here? To snoop around? Because it looks like you found something. Mind sharing it with the class?" she asked, her eyes leveling on the box Ennard was toting.

"Oh, this? No, no, no! These are replacement parts for my adopted brother's adopted sister. See?" Ennard got his arm back from Chica to open the box and fished out a foot. Her peeking into the box as he did. "See?"

"Wait… She's one of them?" Monty asked, pointing a thumb over towards Sunny.

"Close enough," Ennard said with a shrug. He dropped the foot back into the box and folded it up. "But we were just on our way out. Nice to meetcha all though! And good to see ya again, Chickadee."

He gave Chica a friendly pat on the back. Her eyes widened again with disappointment before she turned to him, shaking her head and waving her hands, trying to tell him not to. She made a few unreadable gestures around before finally getting an idea, lifting a finger as she did. She then pressed the finger to her temple and sent a new message to Freddy, which he received quickly.

"Chica would like to take you on a tour of the Pizzaplex!" Freddy said. Chica nodded eagerly.

"Really?! Oh, that would be so much fun!" Ennard enthused. Michael nearly butted in when Ennard beat him to it, "Buuut we're cutting it a liiittle close as it is. We get stuck here after six and we're gonna be spending a long time parked in Sun's room, and I know he doesn't want that."

"No, I don't," Sunny said flatly.

"So, we really gotta skedaddle."

Chica sent another message to Freddy. He translated, "Then how about a small tour through the atrium? You will be able to see many of the attractions from there, even if we do not go inside."

Chica punctuated with a little shrug before clasping her hands together in a plea. Her eyes big and glassy, giving off that same begging appearance.

It wouldn't have been nearly as effective if she wasn't mute. Especially if he wasn't the direct cause of her becoming mute.

Ennard never did handle guilt that well.

"Ooooohhhhwwwwhat the heck! Sure, ha ha! But just a small one, okay?"

If Michael's eyes could've popped out of his head, they would've launched right out of his suit. He should've expected Ennard would cave, but he couldn't believe he actually caved.

Chica gave an excited clap and eagerly hooked her arm around his before hurriedly pulling him down the hallway towards the door they had come through earlier.

"You can head back to the car. This won't take long!" Ennard said back to him.

"I'm fine," Michael replied.

"Are you sure?" Ennard asked, still being led away.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm fine."

To prove it, Michael was quick to follow but did so begrudgingly.

Curse Lizzie for mutilating this chicken.

Roxy and Monty followed after them, with the former quick to match Michael's stride while the latter took his time bringing up the back. Freddy was the lone man out remaining back at the security door. He heard a jingling and looked to see Sunny trying to discretely climb back into the slide without being noticed.

"Sunny, wait!" Freddy called.

Sunny dropped his head in defeat at the bear's clunking footsteps running up. He sighed and flipped his head back to look at him. "Yes, Freddybear?"

"Why not join us? It will not be a long tour, you will have plenty of time to continue getting ready for opening! Though knowing you, I am sure you are already very prepared," Freddy offered.

"Oh, umm. No, I don't think so. But thank you for the offer!" Sunny said unsurely.

"Are you sure? Chica has her hands full, so it will not be, err, awkward."

Sunny knew what he was getting at, as though the little was Freddy was twiddling his thumbs didn't give it away. But after that talk about technicians earlier, with all of them out there and Ennard running his mouth about stuff, Sunny was reluctant. He found a quick excuse.

"Monty doesn't want me there…"

"But I do," Freddy said fondly.

"Freddy, i-it's just gonna be… weird, okay? I don't think it's a good idea," Sunny insisted. "I'm sorry, Papa Bear, but no."

"That is alright. Perhaps some other time." Freddy was disappointed but understanding. "Then would you do me a favor and watch Gregory while I am gone?"

"Sure! I'll head right over," Sunny said, perking right up. Now that was something that he could do and that needed to be done. He stepped back out of the slide and began to skip before Freddy lifted a hand.

"No need!"

He opened his stomach hatch and revealed none other than Gregory holed up inside.

"Sup," Gregory said.

Sunny sputtered dramatically. "Wh- the- hu- Freddy, you can't carry him around with your bandmates! He's get caught!"

"No, no. Gregory is the hide and seek master! He could hide in any spot as long as he needed to without making a peep- and thankfully this hiding spot is fully monitored and has manual locks if need be."

"Manual locks. Yeah," Sunny said unconvinced. His hands on his hips.

"Now he is already in his faz-jammies and has brushed his teeth-."

"Freddy," Gregory said in a reminding tone.

"I am just letting Sun know that you are ready for bed!"

"Yeah, thanks," Gregory said, clearly embarrassed.

Sunny snickered a little, rolling his points and ruffling Gregory's hair- much to the boy's dismay.

"I'll take good care of him, Freddy! Now get going before your friends come back to get you," he assured.

"Thank you, Sunshine. I know this is short notice," Freddy said apologetically. He pulled a small pillow and blanket out of his belly and handed them to Gregory. "And you can still come if you would like!"

"Nope. No. I'm happy here," Sunny said.

"Be good for Sunny," Freddy reminded.

"Define good," Gregory replied. Looking back and up at Sunny with a purposeful smirk. Sunny's eyes half lit, unamused.

"Pretend Sunny is me and do not do anything you would not do with me!" Freddy replied. He took his turn to ruffle Gregory's now totally tussled hair. "Be safe. I will be back shortly. And Sunny, thank you again."

"No problem, Freddybear."

With that, Freddy turned on his heel and bolted out of the daycare as fast as possible. Both to catch up and to keep his friends from venturing back.

As soon as the security door rolled back down, Sunny let out a menacing laugh.

"Ahahaha! You're MINE now, you little rulebreaker!" he cackled like a cartoon villain. He tapped his fingers together as though plotting the most horrible of schemes.

Despite himself, Gregory slipped a smile. "You're such a dork."

"Would you call Freddy a dork?" Sunny challenged. Then after a long moment of silent consideration, of which both knew the answer. "…Don't answer that. Down the slide you go."

Freddy caught back up with the others shortly afterwards and they continued into the atrium, heading off in the rightward direction.

Chica pointed down into the little Kids Cove area, unaware that Ennard had previously caught her searching for Gregory in it. She didn't notice his rigidness at all.

"That is the Kids Cove playground! That is where I officially met Foxy," Freddy volunteered.

Chica pointed to a walkway behind a security door leading over and beyond the play area.

"And that is the way to Chica's Cupcake Shoppe and the Over the Moon Bounce Park!"

"And down there's a dead end that don't go nowhere," Monty said, pointing down to the end of the atrium level. "Just looks over the way into Gator Golf."

"Mikey, we've gotta come back and play Gator Golf," Ennard playfully whispered, giving the rabbit a little nudge with his elbow. Michael gave him a less than enthused look. Ennard got a more apologetic look in his eyes and tight smile.

He was tugged along by Chica who excitedly led him up the escalator to the next floor. Michael followed behind with Roxy behind him. He heard a subtle sniff but received no comments, thankfully. He was very aware of the constant smell of decay haunting this suit, he had just become somewhat blind to it. It was always something.

Chica started to drag Ennard down past El Chip's and tower Mazercise when Ennard caught sight of a menu board outside of the restaurant.

"Would ya look at that! Hold up a second."

He came to a sudden halt, easily tugging Chica's arm and nearly knocking her off balance in the process. She looked back in surprise, but he was already eyeing up the bulletin board, his eyes scanning the choices.

"That is the menu for El Chip's Fiesta Buffet! There they serve Mexican-American styled cuisine," Freddy explained as he stepped up off of the escalator.

"Is that so? Shocking," Michael remarked.

"It really is. That this slop is considered cuisine, ugh," Roxy said with mild disgust. She then muttered a quieter, "They 'slow simmer' the black beans for weeks."

"I'm surprised they're still beans at that point."

Roxy gave a mildly amused scoff.

"Gee, you know for fast food this stuff costs more than the ritzy stuff. Even the tacos- the taco platter's a hundred bucks?! And they're mini tacos! I could eat that whole plate in ten seconds flat!" Ennard said in disbelief. "Michael, tell 'em!"

"Apparently he once ate a jar of molded mayonnaise he had stashed behind a dryer," Michael murmured to Roxy. She gave him a downright startled look.

"Not that! But regrets, yeah, I've got a few," Ennard confessed. His shoulders slouched. "There goes my plan to send Scott up here for tacos."

Chica looked curious and made a question mark in the air and pointed to the restaurant. Ennard had no idea what she was asking. She wasn't asking about Scott, but that was his opening.

"Oh, Scott? He's my boyfriend! Or, well, not really a boy. He's my manfriend," Ennard winked. "He loves this stuff! Or he brings home a lot of stuff like this from his church potluck. We've got this five-layer dip in the fridge that's outta this world. And you wouldn't think that a potluck is gonna have a lot of that good old fashioned tailgating food at it, but this stuff has a layer of sour cream and olives that's three inches thick. Lemme tell ya-."

And Ennard continued to tell her without stop. All the while she got a look of shock, then stared ahead in realization, and then her eye twitched the slightest bit. At that point Ennard started to notice.

"Ah ha ha, yeah… But th-that's okay right? I-I know it's a little, uh, it's kind of funny. Ha! Y'know, funny, because I'm a clown?" Ennard gave her a downright desperate smile. Then broke all pretenses with an abrupt, "But we can still be friends!"

That line snapped Chica out of her trance, and she slumped dramatically in defeat. Her head dropping and her arms dangling.

It was a crushing feeling. Not horribly crushing but a 'major bummer' to be so totally into this guy and just suddenly have him throw that out there.

It was very disappointing, and it used to be that Chica dealt with disappointment by ripping open a bag of chips and chomping down. She couldn't do that anymore, so she had to deal with it her own way. She had to decide exactly what she was going to do now.

"Yoooou okay?" Ennard asked. Inwardly preparing to make a run for it. Michael too, he was already making sure nobody was blocking the stairs.

Chica suddenly straightened back up with her eyes closed and made a motion like taking a deep breath.

Then she gave a firm nod, hooked her arm back around Ennard's, and then began to pull him along again. Her pointing to Mazercise to make her intentions clear. Because no chance or not, she wanted to keep going.

"O-Okay, great! Ha ha, lead the way!" Ennard said. His voice still catching but him sounding genuinely more relieved.

"She took that better than I expected," Michael murmured. Mostly to himself but it didn't go unheard.

"This isn't the first time a guy she's been chasing turned out to be swinging for the other team," Roxy sighed. "Isn't that right, Freddy?"

"I… We are on the same team, Roxy," Freddy fumbled.

"Yes we are, Fazbear."

Chica pointed up at the Mazercise sign before pumping her fist like she was working out, rocking her heels to pretend to do so to an unknown beat.

"D'you do the workout with them?" Ennard asked.

Chica made a so-so motion. "Sometimes." Specially since she had lost the ability to snack. Sitting in on a workout section was a good distraction to pass the day.

Ennard opened the door a crack and peeked in to see what he assumed was a normal workout area.

"Where's the maze?"

Chica pointed over and forward, like she was saying 'in the back'.

Ennard got an eager little grin. "Can I see it?"

Chica agreed with a nod and strode into the Mazercise like she owned the place.

If you had told Michael an hour ago that he would be standing in a dark workout room that smelled of stale food and faint sweat, underneath a bunch of neon lights, getting chatted up by Freddy Fazbear while Ennard and Chica scuttled around a little maze built for children- he wouldn't have believed it. Of course, he wouldn't have believed most of tonight happened, but this was especially unbelievable.

As luck would have it, the person Ennard wanted to make amends with just happened to be, at her core, yet another Ennard.

After a while, they came out of Mazercise and went right into El Chip's where Michael gifted them a few extra minutes despite how weary he was. He didn't want to show it, he didn't want to deal with it, instead moving to the railing of the atrium and leaning on it, staring down at the distance to the floor.

That was the sort of drop that would shatter a body, he considered.

While Roxy shadowed Ennard and Chica, Michael found himself still saddled with Freddy and Monty, much to his confusion. Or no, he understood it completely. Freddy said it himself; Foxy had told him all about his older brother and that made Freddy eager to connect. Even now he was pretty much keeping up the conversation himself, pointing down at the various attractions and explaining them, with Michael nodded when expected.

He appreciated it in a way. Appreciated that Foxy had a friend who was so invested that he was willing to strike up a friendship with his brother because of it. Freddy had passed the test with flying colors. Appreciated that he had a brother who was willing to talk about him and leave such a good impression that he, bluntly, didn't deserve. Or he didn't feel like he did.

Meanwhile, Monty was leaning against the railing on the other side on one elbow. Staring back and off at the floor like he was dead to the world, entirely checked out of the conversation. Apparently, he wasn't the only one zoning out at Freddy's longwinded but enthusiastic verbal tour of the entire Pizzaplex from this singular walkway.

"-except for on Faz-Fridays where you can get two games for the price of one. It is a very good deal! I could go on for ages, but I believe it is about time for you to get going."

"It is?" Michael asked distantly.

"You said you were planning on leaving at three, yes?"

"Yes. Is that what time it is?"

He lifted the Handunit and clicked it on. It read… twelve thirty-seven. That couldn't have been right. It must've reset the clock when Jake did the update. He could fix it later.

"Two-fifty in the morning exactly. That will give us ten minutes to get you downstairs, but there is no rush of course. You are welcome to stay as long as you like," Freddy assured. "And, if I may… you appear to be tired."

"I am," Michael admitted.

He didn't expect Freddy to be bold enough to touch him, so he was downright startled when Freddy laid a hand on his back. It didn't help that Michael was so sluggish that he didn't notice it coming. He quickly tightened his fingers on the Handunit to keep from accidentally dropping it. From this high up there would be no salvaging it.

It wasn't like nobody touched him. Ennard was very physically affectionate and really, he was the only one Michael truly allowed to be that way. Except for maybe Marion, but he had learned that Michael didn't like to be touched.

Or no, it wasn't that Michael didn't like to be touched. It was that he didn't like the feeling he would get when someone would try to offer affection only for him to not be able to receive it. There was always a layer of metal, fabric, and filth blocking him from everyone, including Ennard. So, it always took him off-guard when someone went through the effort of trying.

"Let me go get them," Freddy offered.

Michael nodded. "Thank you."

Freddy gave him a pat and headed into El Chip's to inform them. Monty finally snapped out of it when Freddy walked by and pushed himself up off the railing, cracked his neck, and sauntered vaguely in direction. This was fine by Michael as them being alone together might've been awkward if he didn't say anything, even if Monty seemed fine with long periods of silence.

Freddy walked into El Chip and walked in on Ennard eating corn with a spork while Chica ducked and weaved around, doing a reenactment of her encounter with Charlie- who Ennard had wisely chosen to stay tight lipped about. Freddy told him the time and Ennard blew out of there like Freddy had just informed him that the van was currently on fire. Michael dragged himself off the railing in time to meet him outside and they began to head out.

Though Chica quickly caught up. Michael was prepared for her to fight it, but she didn't. She just came along to walk him out, with the rest of the Glamrocks accompanying them.

"You two are welcome back anytime! Feel free to come along with Foxy if you would like," Freddy eagerly invited.

"And tell the little hot head to drop in sometime. Monty and Chica are just dying to meet him," Roxy added.

"Yar," Monty agreed.

Michael's naturally distrusting nature made him reflexively think it was some kind of trick, but he knew that it wasn't. They were just curious about Freddy's friend, just like Michael himself had been inquisitive about Gabe's.

It was almost inspiring to see that despite the would-be competition between them all and the rocky history they shared, that these animatronics- these people were able to put their differences aside and start afresh.

They embraced Ennard- at least Chica did, but the others were equally responsive to him. Maybe for Chica's sake, maybe because Ennard was that intoxicating form of extrovert who just sucked people in. Michael could've believed either.

They wanted to meet and know Foxy. Something that Foxy certainly needed. He hungered for more friends; anyone could see that. It would be good for him if they truly welcomed him in.

And then there was Michael.

He had been in a room filled with people who knew they had been human and had gone through similar experiences to get trapped in the bodies they currently inhabited, and yet somehow Michael felt completely alone. Entirely singled-out.

Michael went on autopilot through the goodbyes and was ready to leave.

On the way out, a random map-toting Staff bot swung by to wave at them.

"That's gotta be Jake!" Ennard said with an eager grin.

Michael scoffed at his enthusiasm and waved back. It felt… hollow.

Maybe the night had tired him more than he thought. It was almost a relief to return to the van, or it was until it sunk in that it was back to the couch for the time being. He adored his couch, but after tonight returning to it was so anticlimactic. At least it welcomed him with open arms.

"Don't tell Scott about what happened in the basement," he said as soon as they were in sight of the van. Ennard's head snapped to him in surprise. "Not tonight. You can tell him tomorrow, but I don't want to talk about it right now."

Ennard agreed. He certainly didn't want to hide anything from Scott, but keeping it hush for one night as to ease Michael's burden was more doable than hiding it forever. That much he could do. Worst case scenario, he could tell him once they dropped Michael off to ease his mind.

When they walked up to the van, both quickly realized that something was missing: Scott. Ennard briefly panicked, rushing up to the van and looking through the windshield, only to immediately relax his shoulders and knock on the glass. After a few seconds, Michael could see Scott climbing out from between the seats. His normally tidy hair ruffled up, signaling that he was probably sleeping in the back.

Michael considered telling Scott that sleeping in a Freddy's parking lot was possibly the worst decision he could make beyond sleeping IN a Freddy's, only to remember he had a gun and let it slide.

Scott must've gotten spooked with how long they took as he got out of the van and met Ennard halfway around the front of the van to hug him. To which Ennard hugged back and nuzzled his hair, maybe longer than Scott intended but he wasn't complaining. Michael went ahead and gave them their moment while letting himself into the back of the van.

Finally, Ennard and Scott got in, the former joining him in the back and the latter getting in the driver's seat, and soon they were off on the road.

"So, how'd it go? It took you a while."

"Oh yeah, we ran into some familiar faces! Ha, get this-."

Ennard set aside the box of parts and went on to recount his night into Scott's ear.

Michael slouched against the wall of the van and listened to the conversation. Zoning out once more before fading back in when a question caught his interest.

"So, how are you going to break it to Baby that you and Chica are buddies now?" Scott asked. He was sounding relieved himself, more so that Ennard hadn't gotten himself eaten.

"…Ohh, I didn't think about that. Heh heh, eh… I'll figure something out."

"Break it to her gently?"

"There's no gentle about this. No pillowy words are gonna block this sledgehammer of a shocker."

"Yeeeah, I think you're right about that. Maybe just break it to her slowly?"

"Maybe rip it off like a band-aid like I did when I told Chica about you," Ennard fondly purred. Him sliding around the seat to hug an arm around the man.

Scott hugged back with one arm while keeping the other hand steady on the wheel. "…Hey, uh… You didn't give them my real name, right?"

"…No?"

Michael chuckled a little to himself. They both slipped up on that front, hadn't they? It would probably come back to haunt them, but then again, what wouldn't?

He felt so tired. So deeply tired and weak, and tightly wound and heavy. He longed for that couch. To sink into that couch with the only sound being the low drone of the television, volume so low he could barely make out the words.

But he wouldn't truly be alone, would he? He would be with Max and perhaps Marion if he was waiting up for him. Maybe Mike and Jeremy would be up for no particular reason. Charlie could certainly be up. Though likely it was just Max.

Michael didn't find Max's presence unpleasant. He found his blunt and dry cynicism to be rather amusing under the right circumstances, but… not tonight. He didn't feel like he could stand even one more crack about what he was.

It was at that moment that Michael made up his mind.

"Scott, if you don't mind… would you please drop me off at the warehouse?"

"What?"

"What?" Ennard asked in surprise.

"I-I mean sure! But are you sure?" Scott asked worriedly.

"I'm sure. I just need a night to think, and to rest. I'm not staying longer than that," Michael assured.

"You could think and crash at our house! Scott and I'll hit the hay, Baby's probably asleep or songwriting in her room, and you'd have the couch all to yourself! And it's a nice couch. Waaaay nicer than that two-cent hunk of duct tape at the warehouse," Ennard tried to tempt. He turned fully towards him. "Then when we get up tomorrow, we can watch game shows. Whaddya say?"

"It's tempting, Ben, but I need to be alone for a while."

Ennard's eyes filled with worry. Michael knew the moment he said those words he was going to worry, but he didn't have the willpower to continue assuring him right now. He was fine, he just needed some quiet time.

"Okay, Mikey. Okay." Ennard reached out and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly. "Anything you want, you got it."

"Thank you," Michael replied.

It was a good ten minutes before Ennard started talking again, recounting more of the night. Now sitting alongside Michael as though he was afraid to be away from him. Like he knew something that Michael didn't. Maybe he was worried he was faking an injury, Michael considered. Maybe he was injured and wasn't aware of it. Well, it was nothing he could fix tonight.

After what felt like much longer than it was, the van pulled up outside of the warehouse. Scott got his warehouse key off his keyring and handed it back to Ennard who gave it to Michael, who was making his way out the back of the van.

"Want me to walk you in? Or, hey! How about I stay over? It'll be like a sleepover! You, me, a tv, and nowhere to be!" Ennard offered.

"As good as that sounds- and I really do mean it- I don't think I would be much company tonight. Perhaps tomorrow. I'll call you first thing tomorrow," Michael promised. He slid out the back and onto his feet heavily.

"O-Okay, Bud. Whatever you say. I'm just a call away, promise!"

"I know. Good night, Ben. I'll be fine."

Michael wasn't sure why he said that, but Ennard sounded like he needed to hear it.

"Good night to you too, Scott."

"Yeah, uh. Good night, Michael. Call us if you need us," Scott said.

With that, Michael closed the back of the van and headed inside, leaving Scott and Ennard in an uneasy silence.

Michael closed the heavy door to the warehouse behind him and began the long, cold walk back to that office. He spared Candy Cadet a look as he passed by, but the bot was currently dormant, so he left him and headed into the office.

It looked, and smelled, just as he remembered. A little stuffier than it had been though. With a sigh, he kicked the door closed behind him and clicked on the fan, aiming it towards the couch.

Then he set down the Handunit on the office desk. Its comforting weight wasn't doing much for him right now, but maybe clicking on the television he could just zone out and forget why he wanted to be alone.

It wasn't too late to have this be a normal night. He would feel better in the morning. Marion would likely come by to retrieve him, and he would go with him. Settle back in on their couch and begin to draw with clumsy fingers that no matter how much he tried, were never as good as his human hands.

To have one moment back in his body only for it to be ripped away. It was maddening.

There was a couch to sink into and a television to numb his brain away while the fan blew around the stagnant air of his own decomposition. He could rot away watching old soap operas that took him to a better time.

But eventually he would catch sight of himself, and the deep sickness would return. The disgust at what he was. It had always been there, but tonight had been the point where he realized exactly how awful it was. It wasn't bad enough to be a freak of nature, feared and unloved by all, but he also had to look at himself and remember what held him back. And for what purpose? Eventually it would all break down.

Now, if he had a body like the Glamrocks' or even like Ennard's, it would've been different. No, he could never be human again, but at least he could stand existing like that. Looking in the mirror and seeing something that wasn't him was better than looking in the mirror to see the monster he now was.

And maybe it was possible. After all, how easy had it been to secure those parts? Securing a new shell couldn't be that hard, then he would just have to bolt it onto his endoskeleton. It would never feel natural, but at least he would feel something other than the constant clench and release of his springlocks.

What a crazy thought. Perhaps he could discuss it with Ennard. Perhaps they could remove him from this suit. Perhaps, perhaps.

Perhaps for tonight he would sink into the couch like he planned. He would watch soap operas and sitcoms while pretending he wasn't thinking of that feeble hope of escape from this. Drifting into daydreams of better times- remembering how good it felt to for a moment be a person, even if in a bitter hallucination. He could. He could.

…

But he couldn't.

Couldn't.

Couldn't stand.

One more day in this suit.

All at once, Michael knew what he was going to do.

He grabbed the Handunit and tossed it onto the couch. He swept off the desk and only slightly flinched at the clatter. Hoisted a toolbox up from the floor and scoured through before finding a screwdriver that looked thick enough to handle the job he needed doing. His fingers clamping tight around it as he looked down at himself for where to start.

Eventually he settled on his left arm. Something small where if it went wrong, he could stop- well aware that it would take more than discomfort to stop him.

Because under this hulking, rotting suit was an endoskeleton, and maybe it wasn't his body, but anything was better than this. Even if he had to pry off each piece one at a time.

It wasn't like he had many options with a suit so broken. The crank barely kept the springlocks retracted, making it impossible to go through the complicated maneuver of removing the endo from the plush exterior. This was the only way.

There were parts of a wolf suit in the warehouse if he got desperate, but he could clothe an endo. He could hide under a mask and layers of clothing and be free of this and he didn't care what he had to sacrifice to get there.

He wanted out. Tonight.

"Please, God, let my luck be in," he muttered. He set the screwdriver into his wrist, wedging it under the plate for his forearm. "Just this once."

He took a breath- no, he made the noise of a breath without lungs. His springlocks tightened as he braced for pain, and then he began to pry up the suit. Remarkably, he felt very little. Maybe because he wasn't doing much of anything.

He was going to break himself. He knew it, but he didn't care. Himself? No. This suit wasn't him. It was a prison. No, it was him, and if he did enough damage there was no going back from it. He had to stop. He had to.

Michael realized only then that the thoughts weren't his own. He could hear them calling for him, trying to grab his hand and yank it away, but he was steadfast. There was a tearing noise- part of his fabric suit tearing as it was pulled up from the endoskeleton. It hurt a little, but not enough to stop him. He couldn't stop.

He didn't want to stop. It was fighting him, but he didn't want to stop. He didn't care. He didn't care. He didn't care what it said, what it begged, what it screamed. The tear of his fabric and the yells of Candy Cadet pleading for him, Michael, to stop. He was going to hurt himself. He was going to break something. The tear of fabric and his fingers tight around the screwdriver- so close to being out- and the banging of the door.

He was so lost in it that when the screwdriver was grabbed, he fought back for it, refusing to let it come free of his arm. His fingers so, so tight that they ached and his springlocks in his neck tightening as he fought.

Frantic, desperate. He would have control for once in his life and he didn't care at what price.

The screwdriver was wrenched from his grip and yanked away, and Michael snapped his head up intending to get it back at any cost.

And his eyes met Ennard's.

It startled him. He hadn't even realized he had come in. He had just been fighting with him over that tool and he didn't realize he was there.

He had never seen so much fear in those yellow and blue eyes. He hadn't seen it back when they were dark brown either. He was shaking just as badly, if not worse than Michael was. Breathing, staticky gasps echoing through his chest as his wires trembled and tightened under his suit- Michael could hear them.

Met with the same panicked franticness in his gaze, Michael snapped back to his senses, and then immediately submitted. He dropped his hand to the office desk. After a moment of staring, his eyelids started to drop tiredly and his eyes too lowered to the desk, to his arm which he realized was now pinned by Ennard's other hand.

All that effort and barely any results.

Ennard set down the screwdriver on the desk. He started to reach for Michael only to suddenly change his mind, grabbing the screwdriver and proceeding to launch it across the room behind them. It fell behind some junk where it likely wouldn't be found for a good while.

Then he went to looking at the wound, his hands shaking as he studied the slight tearing. The metal frame easily popped back into place.

He started to look over him now. Looking for other wounds and other injuries that Michael could've done to himself. Michael intended to stop him and explain when his eyes zeroed in on the other tear in his suit. He pointed at it.

"Did you do this?"

His voice was low. It didn't sound quite like Funtime Freddy's voice at that pitch.

"Vanny stabbed me."

"…What?" Ennard choked. His voice cracking and exasperated. "Wh-Why did-dn't you t-tell me?!"

"It wasn't important."

"The HEL-LL IT WASZZN'T!"

That was loud enough to get a jump out of Michael. He looked to Ennard as though he had lost his mine. The clown's eyes were wide and twitchy before he dropped his head into his other hand. His fingers running over the plating and across the back of his head before snapping back forward to point at Michael.

"I-I donn't care if y-you don't thiink it's imp-portant," his totally busted voice barely hiding the edge of a sob in his throat. "You t-tell me."

"…Okay," Michael agreed.

"H-How long- How long werrre you pl-planning this?"

"I wasn't."

"Don't lie t-to me, Mi-Mi-Michaeel! III want-t-t to know!"

"I'm not lying! I swear, I… I don't know what happened. I just… lost control of myself."

Ennard let out a shaky breathy whine. He knew Michael was telling the truth. He didn't know if that was better or worse, and Michael was currently so in shock that he wasn't feeling much except reeling at everything.

There was the slightest squeak and both snapped their heads over.

Scott flinched in the doorway as they both looked at him. He hadn't just walked up, he had likely been there the whole time and Michael simply didn't notice. Just seeing the man standing there made him feel a wave of shame.

Ennard acknowledged him briefly before snapping his head back to Michael.

"Grab- Gruh- Grab your things. We're taking you home," he said with finality.

Even with his voice returning to the faux off-Freddy, it was clear that he was upset. Between that and Scott watching, Michal had no will to argue, and instead nodded stiffly. He pulled his arm back from Ennard and shuffle to the couch to grab the Handunit. It was all that he had that he wanted to bring.

Ennard then led him out, the clown twisting an arm behind him to keep a hand tight on Michael's shoulder like he was expecting him to try to flee. Scott followed up behind them, though that was likely just to let them go first.

They were both acting like he had done something much worse than he really had, Michael thought. Though he also thought that it felt like he hadn't done it at all. Like a distant memory even though it just happened. That feeling that it couldn't have happened. He wasn't even disappointed, he just felt… empty.

It was as they were at the end of the shelves when a voice suddenly spoke up from behind them, causing Scott to jump.

"Return to Candy Cadet and maybe I will tell you a story?" Candy Cadet suddenly said. Its body shuddered and the rainbow ring of lights around its head flickered like it was waking up.

Scott stared at it for a second wondering whether to go back. Considering that the last time he truly talked to it he had received a warning about William, it seemed like a mistake to walk away when he might be being called.

"…I'll go check," Scott said a little unsurely.

He took a few uncertain steps before quickly but guardedly approaching the Candy Cadet. The lights softly flickered as he approached, welcoming his arrival, but it said nothing. He looked back to see Ennard still watching him before finally continuing to leave, taking Michael out with him.

"Now I will tell you a story…"

Scott quickly turned back to the Candy Cadet.

"A story of a man on a phone. He would listen all day. He would listen even now."

Candy Cadet's voice shifted into one much more familiar to him.

"Don't take your eyes off of him. Please. I couldn't stop him. If he tries it again, I won't be able to stop him."

"Y-Yeah. Don't worry, I didn't plan on it," Scott agreed. Just barely managing to keep a casual tone. "Uh… How long have you been in here? Since the last time we… talked?" he whispered.

"I am not here. I am just watching," it said. "Please, don't tell anyone else. They know I'm watching and that is for the best."

"I won't, I won't. But just for my peace of mind, that was you who turned on the radio, right?"

"Yes."

That was what caused Ennard to come back inside. The radio in the van had been off through the entire trip and right as they were starting to pull out of the parking lot it suddenly clicked on at full blast to a station with nothing but garbled voices. Either Ennard somehow understood it or was biting at the bit for a 'sign' as he launched out of the van and bolted for the warehouse before Scott could even back up all the way.

Once again, another warning from him. He really was watching.

Scott could only wonder with slight unease how much he could see. He didn't want to think about it; he had enough to think about tonight.

"Thank you for telling me. Or us… We should be going. Are you going to be… I don't know- okay in here? Just sitting in here?"

"I am not sitting in here. I am thousands of miles away, pulling at a little string, watching through a rippled screen."

"Ah…"

"…Which means, yes. I'll be fine."

For the first time during the whole conversation, the stoic voice sounded slightly humored. It almost startled Scott as much as his voice had period.

"Oh, okay. Good… Well, it was good talking with you again and I guess I better get going," Scott said, trying and failing to make it sound natural. He took a few steps to the side. "…Good night, Henry."

"Take care of yourself."

Scott began to turn away when Candy Cadet began to make a crunchy static sound. He turned back slowly and watched as it flickered and hummed until its voice reverted.

"Take a candy. Take a candy and have a story? I am Candy Cadet, come get your candy here. Candy, candy… candy…"

With the robot still muttering and twitching, Scott inhaled deeply and shuffled back down the shelves and out of the warehouse.

Then returned and walked past Candy Cadet, headed into the office, grabbed the left behind office key, walked past Candy Cadet again- shooting him a, "Night again,"- before heading out the warehouse door and locking it again.

During which the Candy Cadet fell dormant once more.

The van was deathly silent as he entered it. He spared only a quick look into the back seat, meeting Ennard's gaze and managing a smile before turning ahead and putting his seatbelt on, then starting the van once again.

Not a word was exchanged, but Michael felt like there was a conversation going on between them through looks alone. Looks he only saw out of the edge of his vision as he refused to look anywhere except for a random spot in the back of the van. His gaze focusing on a crinkled blanket pushed off to the side. It had been folded earlier, he believed. Scott must've used it when he was napping in the back.

Lord, how Michael wished he could go back to that earlier van ride. This felt so much more uncomfortable, sitting here like a guilty child caught stealing candy at the gas station.

But that was not what had happened, was it?

It was hard to place a finger on what exactly that episode was- it was him, through and through. A desperate, wild animal trying to wrench its limb out of a trap and only hurting itself in the process. That fit his situation very well.

He was caught doing something risky, but he wasn't aiming to hurt himself, as Ennard seemed to believe. It was quite the opposite of that. He wanted the hurting to stop. He wanted a real chance out of this trap.

Though now that he thought about it, in that moment, had he really cared if he had gotten injured in the process? He didn't think he did and even now, looking at the tear on his arm and the stab wound on his chest, he had trouble caring about the damage that he would be wearing for… for the rest of his life.

He had tried one last-ditch attempt to get out of this body, and it had failed. There really was no way out.

Michael was ashamed. He was embarrassed, more than ever. More than he usually was being seen as this. This horrible disgusting thing that everyone feared that he was because of his own decisions. He made the coffin he laid in.

And there was no human body left underneath. He would never get out. He could never escape.

It was as though everything he had been pushing back suddenly came crashing down upon him. All that weight hanging over him like a perilously roped sword finally fell free and dug straight through his heart. The organ long gone but the ache as fresh as a new wound. He was instantly overwhelmed with grief.

He was gone. Michael Afton was dead, and nothing would bring him back to life.

Michael broke down into sobs. So suddenly, so violently that it was startling. He couldn't remember the last time he wept, let alone so hard that it made his entire body and the always present springlocks tremble.

Ennard immediately clamored to him and pulled him into a tight embrace. Michael didn't care about his pride, he clung onto the clown for dear life, trying his hardest to hide into his shoulder.

"It's okay. It's okay, Buddy. I've got you," Ennard said. His voice was cracking, choked up, holding not a shred of the frustration of earlier. Like he had forgiven everything that quickly. Or like he had never been angry at all.

He hadn't. He had been scared.

"Ben, God."

"N-No, it's okay. You can- You can just call me Ben," Ennard forced out.

That was a horrendous joke and an awful time to do it, coming from the only person who he would ever let get away with a joke like that at a time like this.

Michael had thought that after he got Ben back- that if he could just get Ben back that everything else would be fine. That nothing mattered except getting back the one he lost. And true, it did matter more than the world to him, but the world was still waiting. It didn't go anywhere.

Ben was silent after that, just holding Michael through the rest of the drive. Scott was mercifully silent, watching the road with misty eyes. It wasn't until he backed the van up to the garage door that he wiped his eyes on his sleeve and got out the driver's side. He tried to quietly open the garage door, hoping by some miracle that Baby was asleep and somehow wouldn't wake up while letting them in, to spare her from this.

Alas, one look inside showed that neither option was true. Baby was nowhere to be seen, meaning she was liking in the living room waiting for them with Bonnet. Scott swallowed thickly and hurried back to the driver's seat to back up.

Once inside, Scott opened the back of the van doors for them.

"Come on," Ennard said. He pulled back only a little and gently tugged Michael to home along.

At this point his was shaking, and because of that his springlocks were chattering so hard it reminded him of Plushtrap. He climbed out into the garage and stood there staring distantly at the bedroom Baby had made of it.

Little Lizzie. He really didn't want her to know about any of this.

Yet the will to ask them not to tell her was all dried up. He could stare somberly but he knew that if he said anything he would just break down again. He couldn't tell if Ennard noticed or not, but he led him to the garage door as Scott hustled to close the van and get it moved to shut the garage door.

Ennard slowly opened the door and peeked in. Much to his dismay and no surprise, Baby was sitting on the couch with Bonnet beside her and both were looking directly at the door. Not even the cats, who were curled up in Scott's chair, were as aware as those two were, watching like a couple of hawks. They weren't sneaking by. He'd be lucky if they got through without an interrogation.

Ennard put on a front and stepped through, "Heh, hey! Look who's up!"

"Ennie, you're home!" Bonnet chirped. She crawled off the couch and scuttled along the carpet up to his leg. "Was it fun? Was it BIG?... What's wrong?"

She could tell. It took her all of two seconds to see right through him. He must've been losing his touch.

"Nothing, Pinky. We're just… We just had a little run-in with some funky stuff," Ennard assured. He crouched down. "I'll tell ya tomorrow, okay? I'm gonna be hangin' with Michael tonight."

"…O…kay…" Bonnet said unsurely. She could tell something was off.

He patted her head and scooped her up before depositing her onto a couch pillow. She shuffled down to hide behind it as Michael came in, still so hesitant around strangers- and Michael still very much was a stranger.

Baby had silently watched him the entire time, only waiting until then to give an inquisitive, "You were late."

"Heh, define late at four in the morning," Ennard joked.

Michael's dead silence was a dead giveaway and he knew it, but he just didn't have it in him to feign pleasantries. He didn't want to tell her with words, so he would let her know without having to.

Ennard steered Michael around the back of the couch- giving Baby a not-so-subtle salute and wink as he passed- and led him right into the master bedroom before pushing the door mostly shut.

She had half a mind to get up and go listen at the door, but she realized quickly that she didn't need to resort to such desperate measures for answers. Not as she heard Scott closing the garage door.

"I think something must've happened," Bonnet said quietly.

"I do too," Baby agreed.

She rose from the couch as Scott came through the garage door.

"Oh, uh. Hello, Baby. I'm glad we didn't wake you up. Hello, Bonnet," he greeted oddly.

"Hi!"

Scott tried to hustle past the back of the couch towards his bedroom, but he didn't make it. Scott knew that falling behind meant a risk of being pulled aside by Baby. Baby failed to disappoint, and when that clawed arm carefully closed on his arm, he let it willingly guide him back behind the couch.

"What happened?" Baby whispered.

"It's no big deal. We- We just-."

"Don't hide it from me," Baby interrupted. Her voice almost pleading more than demanding. "Please."

That cut Scott's excuses short. He couldn't lie to her. Not when she was looking at him like that, when she was counting on him to be upfront. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and tried again.

"Michael had a… incident. When we got out of the Pizzaplex we dropped him off at the warehouse and he tried to… I think he was trying to take his suit off."

"Oh…" Baby said quietly, her eyes wide. It didn't take her long to read the situation.

"And we're just going to just… We're going to take it easy and ride out the night."

"Why did you take him back to the warehouse?" Baby quietly asked. It was not accusatory but probing. She was unsurprised by his answer.

"He asked me to."

"I was afraid of that…" Baby looked away and at the muted TV for a long moment. "…Should I call someone?" she asked, still looking away.

"Not yet. I don't think it's really our place to tell anyone. I mean… Not yet."

"I don't understand. Why would he do that?" Baby asked a little more desperately.

"I don't know… I know they had a run-in with the Glamrocks, but it wasn't a bad one. Yeah, they met Freddy and got the parts. I… I don't know. I…" Scott looked back at the door before quietly admitting, "There might be something Michael's not telling us. Maybe."

"Tell me if you find out."

"I will. I mean, unless Michael wants to tell you himself. I- You know."

"I know…"

Scott started to turn and leave, only to stop and turn back, giving Baby a quick one-armed hug to assure her- and possibly himself, and then headed to the bedroom.

Baby watched him leave before rolling in a backwards arc and dropped on the couch with a sigh, propping her head up on her hand.

"Do you think I hurt his feelings hiding?" Bonnet asked.

"No."

"Oh, good…" Bonnet patted her hands together anxiously. "…Can I sit on your lap?"

"Yes. Give me your pillow."

Bonnet clamored over the little throw pillow and pushed it to Baby who used her claw to nudge it onto her lap.

"So needy," Baby sighed, but without any true weight to it.

Bonnet didn't mind. She climbed onto the pillow and laid out on her belly; her arms spread out on the pillow to keep herself from falling off. Baby went back to propping up her head with her arm as her glassy eyes stared blankly at the tv.

This would be an excruciating wait.

Meanwhile, Scott let himself into the bedroom, finding Springtrap standing there stiffly with his head dropped and Ennard trying to maneuver him towards the bed. He caught the end of a conversation.

"-I'm not destroying Scott's bed."

"No, wait! It's fine! Don't worry about it," Scott said. In a few short tugs he pulled the comforter off the bed. The top sheet coming with it. "Lay down. I'll cover you up," he instructed.

"I appreciate the offer, but I can't… This is just not going to work," Michael defeatedly said. His voice just as fragile as those flimsy sheets.

"It's just lying down. I think we can make it work," Scott said. He gave him an encouraging smile.

Defeated, Michael decided to get it over with and dragged himself onto the bed, having to turn his head to keep his ears from bumping the headboard. Then having to just lay as a full diagonal to fit on the mattress. A mattress on the floor might've sufficed better, but it was at least more comfortable that the firm mat in the daycare's loft.

Scott tossed the comforter over him and started to tuck him in, Ennard stepping in to join him on the other side.

"There you go! All tucked in like a…" Scott trailed off for a moment. "I keep wanting to say pizza pocket, but I don't get why."

"S-Somebody hungry?" Ennard asked.

"Somebody ate an entire bag of cashews while waiting for you guys to come out. I think I'm good."

Ennard chuckled weakly and sat on the edge of the bed beside Michael's legs, resting his arm on them. Scott sat on the other side of Michael, fingers laced, hands resting in his lap. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

They sat there for a few long moments before Ennard gave an awkward laugh.

"You know- You know they've got a hundred-dollar taco platter?"

"Really? Huh. I'm not shocked. They used to upsell birthday cakes for thirty bucks a pop. Ones that were like this big." Scott held his hands apart.

"You're kidding!"

"I wish. Y'know, when we had employee birthdays there was a rule about not bringing in outside cakes. You had to buy a cake from Freddy's if you were going to have any kind of celebration. But a lot of the guys working there weren't working there as a choice, they were working there because they were broke. They couldn't waste half of their paycheck on a cake. So, what they'd do is get a cake that looked exactly like a Freddy's cake- and I mean exactly like a Freddy's cake- and they'd bring it in and hide it in the fridge, so it looked like they had already bought and stored one the day before. Management never noticed and they got to have a little party during their break."

"Clever! But weren't you management?" Ennard asked coyly.

"Well… Not when it came to cake. Y'know, the coffee machine wasn't always guaranteed. When it went out, a midafternoon sugar rush was the only way to get through the rest of the day."

"Oh, that's so devious," Ennard said with a playful narrowing of his eyes.

"Yeah, well… I was broke too," Scott admitted. He returned a little smile.

Ennard forced a giggle. He could tell it was forced; they had lived together long enough that he knew the way a natural laugh would fall out of the clown. This one was shoved out.

Sympathizing, Scott laid his arm onto his, his fingers pushing to lace into Ennard's gloved ones. The clown untangled them to turn his hand over and properly tangle them again. Metal and fabric squeezing his skin softly.

Scott looked down at their joined hands with a somber smile. His eyes locked onto a little spot of brownish stuff on his sleeve and his heart spasmed at the thought of it being blood. Only to realize quickly that he was overreacting, scratching at it to reveal it was some sort of dirt or, he didn't know, some sort of sauce?

"There's something on your jacket," he mumbled.

Ennard glanced down and shrugged nonchalantly.

"Eh, prob'ly tempera."

"That's like, uh, fried shrimp, right?"

"Sorta. That or El Chip's corn sauce."

"You two don't have to sit in here and watch me. I'm not going to do anything."

Scott and Ennard both froze up at Michael's sudden intrusion into the conversation. He was still laying unmoving under the comforter, face crammed into Scott's pillow to black out the world around him.

"That's not why we're staying in here!" Ennard brushed off casually. "We're just… avoiding Baby!"

"Right! Well, I mean- No. But… We're just being good hosts. It would be weird to leave you in here alone," Scott added.

"That's right! It's almost like that slumber party I was talking about! Ha ha, except we're all depressed."

Scott stared at Ennard in disbelief. The clown gave him a strained grin and a little shrug.

Michael knew they weren't telling the entire truth. It was a very stretched and manipulated truth.

But the truth was that he didn't want to be alone. He didn't want to sit with himself and his thoughts. He would rather listen to the two small talk and babble all night that hear himself think.

"Alright…"

He accepted it and closed his eyes, pretending they were the steady hum of the TV. Pretending that this was his bed and his pillow that he was trying to suffocate himself in. Pretending that he was someone else.

And then, unbelievably, as vile as it was, he thought about that hallucination he had faced at the hands of that broken, red-eyed monster.

And he longed for its nightmares.

…

When neither Scott nor Ennard came out of the bedroom by mid-morning, Baby went in to check on them. The bedroom door wasn't locked so she let herself in, quietly looking inside.

It was a strange sight for sure.

Michael was bundled up on the bed, under the comforter, but weirdly lying across is diagonally. He looked to be pulled into himself, but he was just a big lump under the blankets with bunny ears sticking out.

Behind him, Scott was laying in the small space between Michael and the headboard, laying flat on his back with his head on a sideways and smooshed pillow. He looked like he fell asleep unexpectedly, but he must've had some foresight as he had taken off his prosthetic. That leg was resting on the bed while his intact was sticking off it.

Finally, Ennard was sleeping on the floor. His head on a pillow, with Scott's sweater over his face and his own Christmas sweater being used as a blanket, and him partially unraveled under both.

Baby sighed and quietly closed the bedroom door before going to feed the cats. Questions could wait after they got some sleep; whatever happened, they surely needed it.