I Don't Own Fnaf
The moments after the... revelation was dropped onto Mike, he wasn't quite sure just what he was supposed to do with the information. He knew, of course he did, Mike wasn't blind, no matter how much he, looking back on it, avoided the truth that was in front of him like the plague, but the clues had always been there, growing and mounting one after the other, the keycard, the suspicious vanishing only for a man who knew too much and a bit too capable to show up without any warning, with a face no one could agree on, yet an appearance that always ended up pointing a finger back at Mike himself. It had been too much to ignore, and eventually he had to address it, and now he was here, with an answer to a question he had thought long since been buried.
Then there were the other things, Henry's suspicions that Mike had learned about postmortem, the fact that his father had even been arrested for the very crime Mike himself would later make sure the man would be punished for. The fact that Mike, even with a new name, had instantly been recognized, Miller... Father, knowing exactly what he had to do to play Mike like a fiddle... Until he didn't.
Mike had to be an idiot or willfully ignorant to have gone this long without the suspicion growing up until now, and as sad as it was for him to admit, he was both. He had seen the pieces, and he dismissed them, out of hand, like an idiot, but he never would have done so unless he willingly didn't want to see the picture he must have known would have been built in front of him when he did so.
The worst part was he wasn't sure if he was surprised or not. He had built up the answer over the last few days of dread for it felt like so long, after such an emotionally tasking last few weeks, months really if he was being honest, given it's been months now technically since the Cove had been destroyed by Mangle, and even then he never really had a break even before that had happened, he just wasn't sure he had the energy to be much more than just... Exhausted.
Memories of his father came up all the same, as he tried to think it through, though really there wasn't much to think about. Memories of when the man wasn't everything Mike didn't want to be as an adult now. Was that anything at all but just a disguise? A coat of paint over the vileness under the surface that creeped out to reap the lives of children that he should have wanted nothing more than to just entertain?
Just like the disguise he put on to continue his rampage before he had been put down like an animal by the others in his own suit?
Oh.. Oh god... Spring Bonnie, his father's suit. The suit that he built... The suit he died in.
Another clue, another piece of a puzzle now forced and bent into a new shape to reveal a new face, one that Mike didn't much like to think about. It already looked too much like his own, and if he thought about it too long, for too hard, then he would have to think about all the other ways that the two eldest Aftons had been similar... Were still similar.
Yeah, he wasn't going to go down that rabbit hole, he was honestly fending off some kind of breakdown as it was already, what kind he had no idea, and frankly he had no interest in having it in front of Phone Guy. Said man had been awkwardly sitting there, unsure of just what the hell he was supposed to do after dropping such a bombshell on the man. His face twisted up in regret and sympathy, mixed with an uncertainty of not knowing how Mike would react to the news, or rather confirmation.
Mike wasn't sure just how he wanted to react, if he was honest, he didn't want to do much of anything but just curl up in the seat he was in and scream. It sounded like a great way to release some of the many thoughts and feelings he had buried in his chest that had been there for decades now, ever growing, even with the help of others.
That wasn't something he wanted to think about though, not right now, the others that was. Just the thought of it, about how he was supposed to bring this up, because he had to bring it up, made something in him want to hurl.
The idea of telling Evan... That burned the worst, not because he thought his brother would regret his actions, unless something changed in recent weeks, his brother barely remembered their father, and the things that his brother had confessed to remembering just made Mike want no more memories to surface. But the idea of telling his brother, of addressing the only family he had left that the two of them had helped kill off the other.
Mike had helped kill his father... And he wasn't sure just how he felt about that, and that might have been worse than anything, because he didn't regret, not for a moment, killing Miller. He had felt guilty about not feeling guilty, but he had never felt bad about the act itself, and he had thought he had come to terms with that, about that monster under his skin, but now? Now... Now the idea of talking to his brother about it, made everything feel so much more real, like he had no idea just what would happen next, when they already stood on such shaky grounds after everything they had gone through.
And yet he would still do it, and that uncertainty burned in his hallowed chest like little else.
And that wasn't even considering the others, Fritz and Jeremy, they both had worked under his dad, what would they think working with him as their boss now? What would... What would Mari think knowing that the man Mike shared a face with was the one who killed him? Mike had... Had mentioned his theory, the puppet had asked and he was always so weak to Mari's requests, and he had said he didn't care, but what if he did? It was one thing to speculate, another to know, to have that certainty...
It was head spinning as he knew it would be, and Mike hated it.
But eventually he had to say something, and so he did, looking up at Phone Guy, a resigned look playing over his tired face, as he spoke softly.
"I-... Thank you for telling me"
"A-are you ok?" Mike just let out a long huff of air, leaning back for a moment before saying.
"Well, I already knew that he wasn't exactly father of the year" Humor was an old friend, one he would drag down with him if he had the chance, as he slowly moved to stand, saying as he went, "I should have figured he's be worse than even I thought, and that's saying something" Phone Guy winced, still uncertain, and very anxious, though with a strange underlining expression of guilt mixing itself in, Mike ignored it, his brain wasn't in the right headspace to hyper analyze everything right now, he still had to many thoughts.
"R-right, uh... Was... Was that all you wanted to know?" Mike just shrugged, thinking it over in the back of his mind about everything else that he could possibly ask in this moment and finding it lacking, as he eventually figured the man in front of him, while no doubt probably rather not having to know, did need to know about the situation that they found themselves in.
"Honestly, not much else I want to ask, just a few things I need to tell you. Afton Robotics... You were right about skeletons being in its closest, but there was a bit more than just metaphorical ones. There's four more, one for each of the four Funtimes" Phone Guy let out a not so quiet whimper at that, looking a bit ready to scram as Mike continued, "They're the ones that, well, put me out of commission these last few weeks. They're handled for right now, they're still down there, just tangled up at the moment, so you don't have to worry about that, but I figured you should know there's more out there than we thought"
"R-right, uh, thanks fo- AH! L-Look out!" Mike felt himself tense, even though it hurt like hell on his stomach, as he watched as Phone Guy shot up and was half stumbling backwards already into a run as Mike himself got to his feet and turned around, only to see a familiar sight of a stalking fox. He just gave the animatronic a look before saying back over his shoulder to Phone Guy.
"It's fine, he's just being dramatic" Foxy himself just huffed, glaring over at Phone Guy who now looked more petrified than anything, as the fox stared ahead at the man for a long moment, before suddenly holding up his hooked hand, and gave a wave.
"Yar" He was definitely doing that on purpose, as Mike just rolled his eyes before saying back.
"That's hello in pirate" Afterwards he turned back to the fox and said, "I thought you ran off, I was going to get you after he left" Foxy winced a bit, remembering just what it was he had run off from, Mike himself was only a bit to aware of the hole in his shirt. He really didn't have enough of them that he could just forget it. Mari was probably going to throw a fit, this was one of the ones that the puppet liked.
"Where's the fun in that, I figured the ol' Phone would want a reunion, it's been a while since we seen each other eye to eye" To make his point, the animatronic moved over, a bit closer, moving over next to Mike while staring straight ahead at Phone Guy, who looked terrified. Mike was honestly beginning to feel bad for the man, and was definitely exasperated by the fox, as he reached out and casually placed an arm out to keep the animatronic from going closer, Phone Guy giving him a look like he was insane, which... Fair, given the man hadn't exactly been around to see the animatronics were more melodramatic angst than murderous these days in person, just hearing about it from the others... If Fritz actually ever thought to mention that.
"I-I-... I-" Phone Guy clearly had no idea what he was suppose to do, looking very much like a deer caught up in a pair of headlights, as Mike glanced between the two before saying finally to try and spare the man from having a panic attack, given he knew all too well what those were like nowadays.
"Foxy's not going to do anything, he just joined me while the others were out on their road trip. If you two want to catch up though, you know, without old habits being involved, then feel free. Foxy's chatty when he's got an audience" Foxy gave a wave and a bob of his head in agreement. Phone Guy just nodded, slowly and carefully, like one wrong move would cause the animatronic in front of him to leap at him. Mike could only wonder if that's what he looked like once upon a time back during his night shifts when they got a bit more... violent.
"Right... I- I'm going to go" Mike just nodded, yeah, he figured that this would be a conversation ender, honestly he kind of preferred it like that, he had to much stuff going on in his head still that he was actively doing his best to parse through, but was admittedly struggling with more than he would ever let the people around him realize.
"Alright, thanks for coming out here anyways"
"Aye! Don't let the door hit yah on the way out!" Needless to say, Phone Guy... fled. While Mike just sighed as he leaned back into the chair in which he still stayed sat, closing his eyes as he lamented the fact that he could still get headaches. Out of everything, why did it seem like dying only had downsides for him? No superpowers in sight, and constant breaks in his routine when he realizes somethings wrong, and he still gets to have migraines over the insanity that is his life.
He nearly jumped, but was frankly to tired for such a reaction as he felt a heavy metal hand get placed onto his shoulder, as Mike blinked, his eyes fluttering open as he stared upwards, before tilting his head back a bit more to see the vaguely uncomfortable looking form of Foxy, as his eyes traced over to the metal hand on his shoulder. Weirdly enough, or perhaps not given his life, his first instinct was comparing it to the others, Goldie's hands were massive and bulky, Mari's were thin and long, Foxy's were somewhere in between. He still gathered himself to ask as he sat up a bit straighter.
"Yeah? What's up buddy?" The fox just stared down at him for a moment, before saying simply, the accent gone.
"I heard what he said... Are you doing alright?" Mike froze, just for a moment, before slumping a bit in defeat, there went the idea of being able to think that truth bomb over for a few hours... Well, the five minutes he had were going to have to be enough Mike supposed. He's worked with less, so with that he did what he was steadily becoming an expert in, damage control.
"Uh, yeah, how are you doing... Knowing?" Foxy just stayed there for a moment, a conflicting look appearing over his face for a moment before saying with a bit to up beat an attitude, the accent creeping back in.
"Yer old man creeped me out as it was" Mike huffed at that.
"Yeah? You remember him?" Foxy just shrugged himself.
"Not well, not much. But I don't think what I remember matters, he was your old man" Mike just slumped a bit as he sighed, but Foxy wasn't done, the hand firming up on his shoulder as he said, "He's a bastard, no matter who the purple menace turned out to be, a name or not, it never mattered to me, him being gone is all I care about, no doubt the rest will feel the same, but he wasn't nobody to you, right?"
Mike... Well to be honest, Mike was stunned to hear the strangely wise words from the fox, not to say he hadn't thought the fox was capable of it, but more often than not, Foxy was much more willing to act the goof and hide his seriousness and thoughts behind that role of his, so to see... Well, to see Gabriel on display so openly was surprising to the man, as he eventually said softly.
"No... He... He wasn't a great parent, but he was still..." Mike cut himself off with a shake of his head, his mind connecting his past with the present too sharply, old actions played out in a new light so harshly and with so many new thoughts, thoughts he just honestly didn't want to talk to the Fox about, as well meaning as Foxy was, he was a kid who didn't need to hold onto Mike's baggage, as he finally said, "I'll be alright, it's just a lot to process right not"
Foxy didn't seem to really believe him, but nodded after a moment, asking carefully, "What are you gonna tell the others", Mike just had to shrug, the answer was obvious, as much as he didn't want to admit to it. He wasn't one to hide from his issues, and it was simply too hypocritical to hide this fact from the others, not when he had such problems with others hiding things from him. Mike was just too tired of secrets in general at this point.
He was tired of a lot of things if he was being more bluntly honest with himself than he needed to be.
"The truth... Mind being there for my brother after? I don't know how he's going to react, but he'll need someone even if he'll act otherwise, and I don't think I'm the best person for that role right now" Foxy's answer was quick, decisive and as serious as the fox could be, as he said simply.
"Of course Michael" The man just found himself nodding in gratitude before sighing as he moved to stand up, looking around for a moment, before saying, with some forced injected levity to his tone.
"Right, well, let's get out of here then" Foxy picked up on it, and quickly shifted back into his role, like the expert he was.
"Aye, back into the depths! Host yea anchor lad, we have murky waters to sail forth!" Mike just snorted, as the two moved to get back and loaded up into Mike's car, the man himself ignoring the faint creak of the back as Foxy pulled himself in, as they made to drive back to Mike's home. A long moment passed before he finally spoke up one last time.
"Thanks Foxy, for, you know" The fox didn't answer back verbally, simply just raising his hook up just enough for Mike to catch it in the rearview mirror before letting himself fall limp again, as they drove on.
It was a debate, a long one within the golden bear, as they moved the files around, packing the bag that Fritz had brought with him to the breaking point. The man himself had been silent after looking over the files, a look on his face that the bear didn't feel great about seeing, but he only said they'd talk about it later. So in the end Goldie just kept thinking about it, about going down below.
It was one of the main reasons he had decided to come, he wasn't some investigator, and frankly he didn't care nearly that much about this situation as the others did, learning more about a dead guy and the things he got up to had no interest to the bear... But having the chance to 'interact' with the things down below, under his very feet? The things that had scared, had hurt, had killed, his brother?
That was a temptation, the one that had gotten him onto the van in the first place when normally he would have been fine staying out of it, spending the time hanging out with Foxy or talking with Michael. And now he was here, staring at the elevator, wondering just what he was supposed to do next, feeling that itching want to simply step inside and go down below. To find the ones that had hurt his brother and finish the job off. He shouldn't, he knew that, all the talk about second chances and the like would be needlessly ruined just because he couldn't keep himself and any of his old impulses to himself, but... It was tempting.
Goldie couldn't help but wonder if the others had those same impulses occasionally, it wasn't something he could really talk about, and while he knew Foxy, for example, was casual about their murderous past, the fox hadn't shown much in the way of following through with any more acts of violence since Miller had been taken care of. It probably wasn't a good thing, so he never thought to bring it up, it wasn't worth the effort and conversation that would no doubt follow.
It felt almost worth it now, as he found himself still staring at the closed doors that would send him where he wanted to go. Unfortunately subtle wasn't the bear's thing as after a moment, he noted the added presence of Marionette, who moved and hovered at his side, also staring at the doors. He had been expecting some kind of admonishment, but instead the puppet simply said.
"You're thinking about going down there as well?" The bear turned with a creaking tilt to stare at the fellow animatronic for a long moment before simply saying.
"I want to see the thing that had gotten the better of Michael"
"It's not just that though"
"No"
"They aren't... put together well anymore, they were nearly as broken up as they made Mike" That surprised the bear, none of them had really been told much about what ended up happening to be labeled amalgamation of Ennard, except for the fact that they wouldn't be going anywhere.
"What does that mean?" Marionette just let out an uncomfortable chime before saying.
"Mike fought back after he was hurt... He would have ended it- ended them that is- if I hadn't stopped him" Goldie felt something twist in his chest at that.
"Why did you?" Marionette let out a displeased sound at the not so quiet pointedness of the comment.
"We made a deal with each other a while ago, no more killing. It was a joke really, just an in the moment thing to break the tension of something else that we were actually talking about, but it was real... Mike, he doesn't see himself in the best light some times, and I knew no matter how hard it would be for him to recover from this, it was be infinitely easier than another body on his conscious"
"You're telling me something without saying it" Marionette just shrugged, staring ahead at the elevator for a long moment before saying simply.
"Yeah"
"I think you're too soft" Marionette let out a slightly displeased hum at that, but didn't say anything more for a long moment, thinking clearly about something, before finally speaking.
"Would you be able to look at him the same, if he had done it, and you knew?" That stumped the bear for a moment, a frown itching itself on his non-expressive face for a long second as he tried to think about what the puppet was trying to get at. Unfortunately it was a quick answer, and a simple one, yes. Yes it would. Michael... Goldie had been the man's only victim. It had been years and years since, and he had never crossed that line again, instead becoming a man that was much better than Goldie thought possible for how he had once been.
It was vaguely... No, it was actively uncomfortable to think about the idea that Michael could have slipped back into that so easily... Well, not easily, the man had been mortally wounded and chased around, there was nothing easy about that, but still. The idea that such a thing was still possible for a man Goldie had so casually dismissed as soft as well, back during the Toy Bonnie incident...
He wouldn't admit he was wrong, he was a bit too prideful to that, but he could admit, if only a bit-
"Maybe being a bit soft is a good thing," Marionette simply nodded.
"We've all had to be so much harsher than we never wanted to be, and I don't think that's a habit any of us should willing fall back into, no matter our own personal feelings" The message was clear and to the point, Marionette knew what Goldie was thinking about, and he was trying to tell the bear it wasn't worth it. Goldie... Didn't feel much more beyond a general sense of embarrassment at being read so easily. No real shame in the idea he had, but perhaps some had become harsher than others, and that meant those habits were just that much harder to break...
Or feel safe in leaving behind.
Marionette had always been the 'good' one out of them all, the Protector. Goldie had never had such a kind title, much less a mindset to match such hard to grasp ideals. It was for that reason he said back simply, but firmly with disapproval.
"It sounds a lot like you're buying into Michael's second chance philosophy for everyone" That got a surprisingly harsh huff from the puppet as he turned once more to look over at Goldie, a sharp chilling set of lights appearing in the puppets eyes, just for a moment, as he spoke.
"Mike has done more than enough to show that it's always worth the attempt... That does not mean I'll ever accept what they did to him, what they made me do for him. I can forgive a lot of things, but not this, never this. There is a reason they are still down there and why they will stay there for as long as we have a choice if I have anything to say about it" Goldie had to give that to the puppet... Still, he had one last thing he felt the need to ask.
"Did it change anything for you? Seeing him like that? Knowing he would do it if you hadn't interfered?" He wasn't sure just which side he was asking the question for. It didn't matter in the end, as the puppet spoke with a determined certainty.
"No" Marionette let the single word rest in the air for a moment, before continuing on with the same certainty in his tone, "Because I was there, and I always will be when he needs me" The bear didn't say anything else. That was answer enough.
He had been wondering for a while, absently and often without his conscious will, about the relationship the two had. If Goldie was being honest with himself, he was jealous in a way, of the clear and easy bond the two forged, like it was nothing, while the two brothers had to fight and scrap for every aspect of growth in their frayed and abused familial bond. But Goldie thinks he has it understood now, well enough at least, until one or both of the two eventually spell it out for him and the others.
He wasn't sure what that did for him though, or about how clearly he had grown back to caring so fiercely about his brother compared to where they once were.
It was too many thoughts in front of a chance for a moment for stupidity, so instead he simply just nodded and said as he turned to head back to the van, "Good. Someone needs to be there when Michael's being stupid" That seemed to break the tension of emotion in the air as the puppet let out a chittering chime of amusement at that as he teased back.
"I suppose, though it seems I'm having to work with more than one Afton" The bear just rolled his eyes, saying back as the two left.
"And here I was expecting you to claim that I'm a Schmidt now" Marionette's chiming laughter followed the two out. It wouldn't last long, but it was something amiss the tension that being in such a place naturally brought down onto any mood present.
The air felt tense as everyone gathered once more at their house once more. Mike was already there, showing his visit had been a quick one, something Marionette wasn't sure was a good or bad thing just yet with the complicated look on the man's face that appeared the second that the others had shown up. Foxy as well had his one visible eye flickering around, settling on Mike and then towards Goldie for some reason, back and forth, whenever he seemed to think no one would notice.
Floating in closer, he just drifted over to Mike who gave him a small, strained, smile, and if that didn't say everything about whatever it was that the man had found out... Still, he kept himself patient and his hands to himself even if he wanted to just move around to rest his arms around the man's shoulders, he looked like he could use it, but right now it was time for their twisted version of show and tell, as Fritz was the one who broke the silence, speaking up after a moment, pulling the bag he had resting on one of his shoulders, off and around, to open up and reveal the paper contents within.
"So, we found a few things, the computers were there, but I just took the drives from there, I'll plug them into the computer at the warehouse later so we can look through it" He explained that for Mike's sake who just nodded, as Fritz went on to pull out the papers themselves, a grimace pulling over his face. Marionette was more focused on Mike, who, while for the others probably didn't seem to react, the puppet could see the way his jaw tensed at the mention of the computer at the warehouse. Marionette remembered the man saying he was going to look into it, among other things.
"And Goldie found these. It's the base plans for the Funtimes, there's a lot of information missing here, it looks like it's just the dimensions while the rest was left somewhere else, though I'm not sure where"
"Probably below" Fritz grimaced, but nodded at the added comment, as he continued.
"Probably, but still, this can still say something, even if it's pretty... disturbing, I noticed something about the layout for these things and..." The man paused again, longer this time, but no one rushed him, the weight in which he was speaking, and the hesitance in his words showed it wasn't something small, as everyone slowly tensed up for the eventually bomb that the man soon dropped with a dreading tone in his voice, "From what I saw... There's spaces in at least two of the animatronics that could fit a-... For someone small to be stuffed" Fritz couldn't bring himself to say it, and the second it clicked for everyone about just what he was trying to say, no one could blame him.
Marionette felt like the world had dropped out from under him, his hold on himself faltering enough that he nearly collapsed if it wasn't for Mike who had moved to stand in the same moment, his hands having been clenched suddenly shooting out to grab ahold and keep the puppet from the harshness of carpet burn. Whatever Mike was going to do was interrupted by the sudden need to support the puppet, but even then, Marionette could hear the man's voice as he felt like he was lost in the storm of thoughts, about how... How awful such a concept was.
"Are you sure?"
"Y-yeah... I- No, I mean, they'd have to be built like that right? It makes no sense, unless Miller somehow switched the plans out, so maybe it was made to hold stuff but I can't shake the feeling that-" Mike interrupted the man, an arm wrapping more firmly around Marionette, almost like the man was now holding on for support now, as he spoke up.
"He did... He- The Funtimes were put in production when? Do we know?" Fritz paused, if only for a moment, before moving to lean down, looking through the papers for some kind of date, before saying.
"Uh, yeah actually, it looks like the first one, Bellora, was put into production... At the start of '84, then nothing for a while, Circus Baby was next, in the middle of the year '84, and a few months later the two Funtimes were made" Marionette felt Mike's arm tighten around his body as the man said simply.
"Baby's Pizza World was opened at the end of '85, it was closed before the new year. They said there were gas leaks but..." But no one needed it spelled out for them, that had to have been when it had happened, as Marionette was suddenly realizing the two of them were actively keeping the other standing now, as Mike continued to speak, his voice gaining a sharper and sharper tone to it.
"F-four more kids... He killed at least four more kids, the second he could, the second the doors were opened" They knew it, they all did, but the vitriol in Mike's voice and the facts leading them to know just what had happened, when it had happened, and the idea it had been that premeditated. A silence dropped over the room, only for a second, as everyone, or at least Marionette, was forced to deal with that knowledge, it had been so long, seven years... He couldn't imagine, he had been trapped for a while, a long while, but he had been asleep or unaware for most of it... But that long...
Mike wasn't done however, as he continued, after a long moment, saying.
"You're right Fritz, those designs were for that purpose, it had to be, he had to have realized what Mari was doing and... And-" The man's voice broke with the anger behind it, it was startling, Mike wasn't easy to work up, but this seemed to be pressing his temper, as Marionette himself began to have a worse and worse feeling about what had happened at the warehouse, "He was trying to recreate the gifts... And he succeeded. He made the Funtimes, probably made the entire brand just for that test, maybe he got over zealous and that's why the place shut down so quickly, but it doesn't matter, he knew what he was doing from the start"
"But... How? This was before Miller had stepped in right? So how could he have managed to do something like that? He wouldn't have even been a guard yet" Mike just shook his head, as Marionette was filled with dread at the look playing over his face, and just like that, Marionette knew what Mike was going to say, before he said it.
Because Miller wasn't his real name... Just like I changed mine to get back into this situation without being recognized, he did the same to escape notice, better, somehow, but it was always one man playing the strings at all these places from the start. William Afton, he's the one who was behind it all" It was silent for just a moment, before suddenly the sounds of voices all filled the air at once as Marionette was frozen in place, unable to hear whatever Mike was saying to answer what sounded like waves of questions, ranging from shocked to demanding.
It was like a static filled his head in such a dizzying wave of thought that it nearly knocked him to the ground, if Mike wasn't holding on still, he would have been grounded, as a memory, unbidden, and cruel creeped back and played out before his eyes.
The sound of drowning rain, the look of a twisted grin on a face that felt foreign staring down, towering over him. A faint sense of relief suddenly shifting into a pounding feeling of dread and fear. A pair of hands reaching down and-
A long static whine came from somewhere and suddenly Marionette gasped as he felt himself tense and flinch as he was dragged from the memory as he found himself staring up at a man with a face that made him flinch back, just for a second, the image to familiar to not have the memory superimposing itself over Mike's concerned and guilty face, such a stark contrast to the one from before, that not even the purple, after a moment, could keep Marionette from realizing he wasn't there in that memory anymore.
He was safe, in his home... But something in the back of his mind itched, as that cruel grin echoed in his thoughts, that made that thought, that idea of being safe, harder to hold onto, even in the protective and firm hands of Mike. The puppet wasn't honestly sure if being held right now was making it better or worse, but finding out meant having to focus on keeping himself in the air, so he just held still.
"Are you alright?" Marionette chimed, the sound more distressed than he wanted it to be, as he managed to make himself nod.
"S-sorry, I- I remembered something... unpleasant" The puppet didn't want to get into just what he remembered, so being vague it was, thankfully Mike had no want to question him in this moment in front of the others, though now that Marionette had the ability to focus in the present once more, he noticed it was only Jeremy and Fritz that were still here. Goldie and Foxy seemingly having left at some point, the tension and worry on Mike's face wasn't one to be downplayed, as he looked back over to the two men, the worry increasing, an almost expectant gaze falling over his expression.
A conversation had happened, one that seemed to have been much longer than the event that Marionette had been wrapped up in remembering, the puppet did his best to not feel awkward about it, the idea of zoning out for minutes at least not playing well with his mind, no matter how startling or vivid the memory itself was. He had missed the two other animatronics in the room leaving after all, without even noticing, and given that he couldn't imagine their exit being quiet... It was concerning, it felt much too like listening to a music box, that drain of awareness.
"So... what do you think?" Both men just grimaced, a matching look of something on their faces, as Fritz and Jeremy glanced at each other, Fritz, as he often was, was the first to break the silence between the two of them, as he said simply, if a bit bluntly.
"It feels gross" Mike winced a bit, "I mean, we couldn't have known, but... It doesn't feel great that even after all this time more and more things just keep popping up with more twists to all of this. I-... I just want this to be over with already" The man looked tired, Marionette could find any way to blame him for that, he had dealt with this all nearly longer than anyone, even if from the other side of it than the animatronics had. A victim all the same. Jeremy spoke up next, a frown on his face, but as ever the voice of optimism.
"But we at least know now, that matters for something, and it's over, no matter who he was in the end, he's gone now. All that's left is for us to just... deal with these discoveries, but once we do, it's done for good, we can move on" Marionette winced a bit at the wording, and Jeremy was nice enough to notice, sending him an apologetic look, before finally turning to Mike, a frown on his face once more, serious yet worried, "What about you though? How are you... dealing with this all?"
Marionette, admittedly, in that moment, felt a bit horrid with himself as he realized for the first time something he should have thought about before, as he turned, just enough, to be able to properly look at Mike's face, it... He... Mike was always good at hiding what he was feeling, but the simple question from Jeremy seemed to crack something over his expression, not for long, but long enough for everyone in the room to notice it, that sheer despair, the betrayal and sadness, and so many other things, playing out just for an instance, before they were hidden behind the wall of Mike's self control, as he said with a hint of strain in his voice.
"I-... I'll be alright, I just need time to think it over, get my head around it fully" No one was quite sure they believed his words, but there was nothing any of them could do but agree, talking about it clearly wasn't what the man wanted to do, not in this moment, and so the group split, Fritz and Jeremy leaving after a moment to give the Aftons and animatronics time to think over how this changed things, and so the men could do something similar themselves.
Everyone needed a moment, time to think, and in the end, Mike's thought was right.
This changed nothing, and yet everything still felt different.
This was a... difficult one, pinning down just what Mike was feeling was a bit difficult, given, well, to call it a complicated situation would be a gross understatement to everything happening in his life right now. Not to mention the reactions from everyone else, and that's not even mentioning the middle section of this chapter with Goldie and Mari.
I honestly for a while debating holding onto the revelations about William Afton being the killer for longer, I mean, let's be real, everyone reading this already knew it was very likely that he was Dave Miller, but the characters didn't, and that meant this reveal could have waited a lot longer, until something much more impactful... But that downplays and hurts that point of this section of the story, where the past is finally coming back in full force and the group finding out the things that happened outside the walls of Freddy's, and no matter how you paint it, William would have been figured out at some point, might as well do it sooner, get it out of the way, and be able to address all the other horrible things going on instead of just dragging it on for another twenty chapters like I probably could. It just didn't seem like it was worth enough of a pay off compared to what I could get out of it right now.
Then there's Mari and Goldie, and their moment... That was also complicated. Goldie in this case is complicated, just in general really, as a character he's complicated. He's most certainly a lot better than he used to be, but old habits die hard, and they aren't that old yet for the bear. Golden Freddy was an absolute menace in the games, just because I've put a new coat of paint and a new soul into the bear, doesn't mean they're at all more nice and cuddly. I hope I've made it pretty clear that Evan ain't exactly the nicest of the cast by a fair margin, mostly just to balance out all the other stories that make him an actual golden child of purity. Cause, in my personal opinion, with the shit he's gone through and the reality he's lived in, he is fully justified in acting like a little psycho. But even then, those tendences have been harshly curved by the people around him. Good influences and all of that.
I don't know, I could go on and on about this, but I liked the moment between the two, showing the two far sides of the animatronic moral spectrum, Mari has been all for second chances this entire time, but draws the line at Ennard, while Goldie thinks the idea is still kind of stupid, but knows that any slip is one that can't be undone. It's interesting, it's dynamic, and I just like them interacting, but that's about it I think for the moment, so... See ya!