Mable: Merry (early) Christmas! A second chapter to get the ball rolling! ^_^ Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Five
In the months directly after the discovery of the coming pizzeria, things had been tense but relatively quiet. Life had somehow managed to continue even when every passing day was a day closer to the opening of their competition.
Today was Fritz's day off and it was still one of the first times he had sat down all day. Recently, things had been so busy at the pizzeria that care to the house had fallen on the wayside. It wasn't too uncommon for Fritz and Natalie to put off the dishes an extra day or put off changing a lightbulb in a closet or spare room. The house wasn't a disaster, so it could wait until later.
They had made a pact to make this day off that 'later'. After sleeping in and eating breakfast, they had gone right to work into chiseling away the lengthy chore list hanging over their heads. They were making pretty good time too, but it was time for a break, even for someone like Fritz who had a habit of overworking. He settled into the couch while Natalie went into the bedroom to change her pants- which had gotten dirty from yardwork.
Fritz was only on that couch for a few minutes, just long enough to consider turning on the TV and get into a mental battle on whether he was going to or not when the phone rang. He pushed off the couch and answered the phone shortly after.
"Hello?"
"Hello. Is this Sam Fritz?"
It was an unfamiliar voice. "It is."
"Sam Fritz of Foxy's Pirate Cove?"
Now he was becoming a little more wary of this random caller. "Yes, that's right. Who is this?" Fritz asked.
"Excellent! Glad to get ahold of you. My name is James Wight, and I am with Fazbear Entertainment. How are you doing today?"
It was like the world stopped in that moment. Like his stomach filled up with glue and a cold sweat crept across the back of his neck. Fritz knew immediately that whatever this was it was going to be bad. It felt like an ambush even though he sounded like a telemarketer.
"I… Uh… Good?" Fritz got out. He quickly recovered, clearing his through and feigning some form of normalcy. "Sorry, I just got finished with some work. What did you need…?"
"I'm glad you asked! I've been looking to get in touch with you. As you may know, a new Freddy's location is opening nearby very soon, and I was just calling to offer an exciting opportunity for Foxy's within the business."
"Uh huh. And that would be?"
"We would love to have Foxy's be a part of our new establishment. Foxy himself has been such a pillar of the Freddy Fazbear brand for so long that bringing them together again would be a… momentous occasion!"
"I'm going to stop you right there. If this is about the licensing rights to Foxy, we do have them. The Foxy the Pirate brand has been separated from the Freddy Fazbear brand and is no longer under the rights of Fazbear Entertainment," Fritz said as though reading it out. After all, he had been preparing for this moment. "So, I'm sorry, but that's not going to happen."
"Oh no, no! That's not at all why I'm calling. This isn't some kind of brute force attempt to confiscate Foxy! That might've flown with the old Fazbear Entertainment but rest assured that the new Fazbear Entertainment will not be nearly as careless. No, our goal is to work together and coexist with other longstanding brands in the area. Such as El Chip's and Big Top Burgers."
"El Chip's?" Fritz asked in disbelief. "Wait, you've talked with Glenn?"
"I have! In fact, we're already made El Chip's a place in our food court- and we're looking to exchange the same offer to Foxy's! We would love to feature Captain Foxy and friends in our establishment. May it be a section of the food court, or perhaps even a place in the arcade. Maybe even as a mascot for our seaside themed kids area. We have more than enough room and it would be nothing but free publicity for Foxy's Pirate Cove."
"That's… That's pretty generous of you," Fritz said cautiously. He wasn't buying it for a second. "But what does Freddy's get out of it?"
"…Well, if you must know. Freddy's doesn't have the best reputation after some of the… decisions made by my predecessors. The rumor mill certainly doesn't help. In contrast, Foxy's is beloved, adored by everyone I've spoken to. Us working together might show people that we aren't a product of the last decade, but a new, reborn example of what Freddy's should have been."
Fritz understood immediately. They wanted to ride onto Foxy's Pirate Cove's coattails to alleviate any worries that would come from reopening a business where countless murders had happened. Fritz understood it, yes, but he didn't think there was any way that plan was going to work.
He knew from experience that there were two kinds of people in the area: people who didn't know what happened at Freddy's and people who were directly affected by it. The former might drop in if they didn't hear what the latter had to say, the latter wouldn't be caught dead in the establishment- an idiom that Fritz immediately regretted thinking of.
"Well, what do you think?" Wight asked. His voice oozed schmooze.
"I… I have to think about it," Fritz answered. "And I'd have to talk to my business partners before I made any decisions like this. I'm only partial owner."
"Of course! Of course, no rush. You take all the time you need to and, in the event you decide not to partner up, know that there will be no hard feelings. As much as we want Foxy in the Pizzaplex, we also are looking forward to a healthy and open relationship between our businesses. After all, we will be sharing most of our clientele."
"Right…" Fritz didn't miss the namedrop, but he had no idea what a 'Pizzaplex' was.
"If you could discuss with your fellow owners about the license of Bonnie the Rabbit while you're at it then that would be wonderful. We were halfway through theming a locale on him before we realized the rights had changed hands!" He gave a jovial laugh. He sounded so unbothered. "Next week we will be having a- what would be something along the lines of a- an open house event if you would. And if you would, you and your partners could swing by and drop in on the fun!"
"Uh huh. Sure, sure. We'll… We'll stop in." Natalie walked up at this point and noticed the look on Fritz's face and knew something was up. She stood there waiting for the call to end.
"Well, thank you for your time, and I hope to speak again very soon."
The call ended and Fritz slowly hung the phone back up and stood there for a long moment. He raced through everything he said and everything he had wished he said, and what he just agreed to. The only reason Fritz hadn't given a firm no was fear of retaliation, something that was haunting him even now. He looked over to see that Natalie had walked up sometime during the call. She had her brows raised.
"That didn't sound good," she finally said. Fritz shook his head. "What was that about?"
"That was the sound of our impending doom… I need to call Mike."
"The Weird Woods stretched on as far as the eye could see. In every direction there was nothing but trees! He couldn't see the trail or the other girls and boys, but before he could cry or shout, he heard a funny noise- Hoot hoot! Roger looked up to see a great big bird flying down. It circled once, twice, trice, and landed on the ground."
"Hoot hoot, my boy! Are you lost? You're the only boy I've come across. What are you doing out so late?"
"Oh, Mr. Owl, I think somehow, I must've lost my way!"
It was precious. Not just the fact that he was doing the voices- that was adorable too- but how much investment he put into this performance. Even when it wasn't on a stage, but in the last place Mike ever thought he would be comfortable: a hospital. Though the audience hadn't changed, he was still surrounded by a plethora of adoring children listening eagerly and watching wide-eyed as a living puppet read to them.
Marionette had actually brought up his interest in visiting the children's ward long before Foxy's image campaign, and the only reason they hadn't gone through with it was because his wariness of hospitals. He was afraid they would unlock some memories he didn't want to or give him a deep-set uncomfortable feeling that he couldn't shake, but neither case happened. Instead, Marionette took to the experience wonderfully. He loved seeing the children happy.
They had been set up in some sort of activity room for the kids. Mike was sitting in a chair in his face paint and puppeteer costume while Marionette sat in a chair directly beside him so the man could hold his back and mimic having control. During this time, they had done a few little routines, some jokes and stories, and then the reading had begun.
Mike didn't think they were going to eat this up as much as they did. He thought they would be wanting to see Marionette doing tricks or something more exciting than just reading to them, since he knew others came in and read to them, but it turned out that they loved it regardless. Listening with full attention and no boredom on their faces.
Charlie was also there, though had chosen to take a more subdued role. She had her box outside the door and was greeting and passing out candy to whoever passed by, child or not- so, basically a distraction and lookout so that Marionette could have a little more freedom.
They stayed for about two and a half hours before it was deemed time to pack up and leave. Mike wheeled Charlie's box out to the van first before coming back for Marionette on his stand. This gave the puppet a few more minutes with the children. Safely, since they had bought the ruse that Marionette was either magically alive or being remote controlled from somewhere else.
With Mike gone and nobody watching, Marionette dared to show off a little of his 'magic' with floating tokens and string tricks- "accidentally" binding himself up in a comical display. Gave the kids one last little show before handing out a gift.
"Before I go…" Marionette trilled, knowing he was cutting it close and still going ahead. He had moved to kneeling on the floor once Mike left so he wasn't as visible through the hallway windows, but still had to keep a watchful eye. He reached for a roll of tickets that had been left with him. "I'm going to give each of you a special ticket! And when you get better, you can come see me at Foxy's and have a very special day."
These tickets were little more than normal tickets stamped with present designs, which he had done before he left the pizzeria. These special tickets would give them a free day at Foxy's: free games, free food, and free prizes.
Though the tickets themselves weren't special in any way. They were just a physical object to encourage the children to look forwards to getting out of the hospital. Instead, as he passed out every ticket, Marionette paused a moment to activate his facial recognition so he would remember the child he passed one out too. He seldom used this feature of his, but it felt like it was about time he put it to good use. Everyone got a ticket, and everyone was scanned.
Soon afterwards, Mike came in to get him. He was practically trembling by time he was being wheeled across the parking lot with leftover excitement. He could still remember every child's face if he thought deeply enough.
The excitement didn't end either. Recently, Mike and Marionette had started to let their guard down when it came to the van. If Mike was costumed up and they were driving the Foxy's van, he would prop Marionette up in the passenger's seat. He would be in plain view, but under these circumstances it wasn't seen as suspicious, just as long as he stayed perfectly still.
This allowed him to get a better view of the daylight hours of Hurricane. He could see everything without hiding and be seen without it leading to disaster, just maybe some odd looks or staring. It felt very close to how he imagined it would be to ride passenger side as a normal human being- not that he was down on being a puppet. Especially not after he brought so much joy to all of those kids who really needed it.
Charlie didn't mind sticking to the back. After being in her box for so long, it felt good to stretch her legs and move around freely, and the front seat wouldn't have offered that. Though she did share that fulfilled feeling for what they had done, as did Mike. Maybe it wasn't the typical family outing, but it felt especially special. It had been a good day.
A good day that was about to become sizably more complicated when Mike turned on his phone and noticed numerous missed calls. Taking a slow breath, he held his cell phone with his shoulder and listened through the messages as he left the parking lot and slowly made his way through town. Eventually setting the phone aside and having to break the news.
"Looks like we're going over to Fritz's," he said defeatedly. Marionette's eyes snapped over without turning his head.
"Did something happen?" he asked with concern. He hadn't been able to hear well with the phone's smothered position, but it wasn't hard to figure out how long it took to listen through the messages.
"Yeah, something. I don't know what but considering how many calls he left it's got to be big," Mike said. His mouth tightened as he started thinking of Fritz's tone. He didn't hear that panicked tone often from him, it was a worrying sign.
Charlie must've had the same idea as she climbed over and leaned between the seats to look at him. "You don't think… You don't think it's Grandpa, do you?" she asked. Marionette felt a chill at the thought of what that could mean.
"I don't think so. He sounded kind of panicky and if it was about Chance, he'd probably keep his cool. He'd be the one pulling him apart, so he'd have to," Mike said. Both puppets seemed a little relieved, but Mike was far from it. "I just know it's going to be something about that stupid pizzeria."
"Don't call it stupid. You were the one who wanted to open it," Marionette lightly teased. Mike sent him a flat look and his smile only widened before he looked back out the window again.
The rest of the drive was uneventful until they pulled up to Fritz's. Natalie answered the door. Mike helped Charlie inside and Marionette teleported in after them just in time to catch a glimpse of Fritz pacing between the kitchen and the living room while eating what looked like a bologna sandwich. Mike and Marionette exchanged a pair of concerned looks.
"We've upgraded from fanatic pacing to stress eating. Considering that he's been dropping weight since we found out about Freddy's, this is sort of an improvement," Natalie said with a tired sigh. Fritz must've heard her as he came to a stop and looked over. Upon seeing that they had arrived, he quickly set the sandwich down on the table and wiped his face with a napkin.
"H-Hey. Just in time," he said in a muffled voice. He swallowed down the mouthful before continuing, giving the three time to come into the room. "So, I got an interesting call earlier," he said with audible nervousness.
Marionette started ticking instantly. Both Mike and Charlie identified it, looking at the puppet standing between them. His mask looked entirely unaffected, a complete poker face, as was his voice when he asked, "From?"
"From a 'Mr. Wight' of 'Fazbear Entertainment'."
"Oh boy, here we go," Mike muttered, feeling the sinking feeling kicking in. "Alright, start from the beginning."
"For starters, he called me knowing who I am- Sam Fritz, owner of Foxy's. After sweettalking me a little, he starts throwing out offers to have Foxy's and Freddy's work together in some kind of licensing deal. Said how they would be 'proud to have Foxy's in their establishment' and then in the same breath admitted that it was because of Freddy's bad reputation."
"And you said no," Mike said.
Fritz clammed up for a long moment. Then he tentatively began, "I was sort of on the spot-."
"And you said no," Mike half-begged. Fritz gave an apologetic and intensely stressed smile.
"I told you, you should've said no!"
Fritz closed his eyes and dropped back his head at the voice calling up the stairs, then slowly walked over to them with his hands in his pockets. From that motion alone, Mike could already assume that this wasn't the first time he heard this. It was followed by heavy footsteps and Mike leaned forwards so he could peer down the stairs. A familiar black bear animatronic thudded to a stop on the lower landing.
"Hey, Grandpa," Charlie called down, peeking around the corner.
"Hey there, Girlie- I told you, Fritz, if you give that man an inch, he's going to take a yard. No, more than a yard. Your whole business," Chance called up the stairs. "You should've nipped this in the bud when you had him on the phone… Mike, what are you wearing?"
Mike didn't even spare a glance down at his costume. "About a pound of greasepaint," he replied.
"Well, give me a warning next time. I've got enough nightmares without you joining in," Chance remarked. He turned his stifling gaze back on Fritz. "If you go down there, he's just going to try and corral you into some kind of business deal."
"If you go down there…?" Mike muttered questioningly. He shot a quizzical look towards Fritz out of the corner of his eye. Fritz fought the urge to roll his eyes and turned down towards Chance.
"I know. I know that's exactly what he wants. I'll figure something out," he called. Chance gave him a dismissive wave and turned to thump back down the stairs. It had been a while since Chance had been this wound up, but he supposed he had a right to be. He faced Mike again, and Marionette and Charlie at his side. "He asked if we wanted to come down to the Pizzaplex and meet him."
"Pizzaplex," Mike repeated flatly.
"So, it IS a movie theater! Well, that explains the size," Marionette exclaimed. He turned and added to Mike, "You can pay up when we get home."
"It's not a movie theater. I don't know what it is, but I know it has a food court and Glenn's already sold out El Chip's to be there," Fritz interrupted. Both of their heads snapped to him in disbelief.
"Are you serious? Glenn, the guy who was talking about getting screwed over Freddy's sold out to Freddy's?" Mike asked in disbelief.
"Apparently so. I don't think Wight would've lied about it. Who would lie about getting Chipper's Salsa and Chips? That's not something you brag about."
"But… How can that be? El Chip's was doing better than Chipper's ever was! Their business was practically-." Marionette cut off suddenly as a look of realization dawned on his face. From the shift of his mask's eyes, he was looking between both of the men with concern. "You don't think… because I broke some of their machines-?"
"Nah, it can't be that. I've spoken to Glenn since then. He said everything was going fine," Fritz reassured. He paused a second before coughing and adding, "…But he was spooked after that health scare. I never told him what was going on, so he still thinks he had a spontaneous heart attack out of the blue. He told me he was trying to get his blood pressure under control."
"You know, Glenn's not young. If they offered him a big enough number, he might've decided to take an early retirement," Natalie chimed up from the couch. "Or it's just a licensing deal and El Chip's staying open."
"I'll go easy on you since you haven't seen the place," Mike began, turning to look back at her. "But nobody would spend a cent on Chipper's unless it was to knock them out completely."
Natalie stared back for a long second before her face cracked into a smile.
"…I cannot take you seriously wearing that," she said, breaking with a snicker halfway through. Mike gave he an unamused look. "I'm sorry. I've been planting bulbs all day. I'm delirious over here."
Mike sent her a flat look before rolling her eyes back to Fritz. "Have you called Jeremy?"
"Should be here any minute," Fritz answered.
"Then let's wait until he gets here and figure this out. We'll tell Foxy later; he's barely holding it together as it is."
The group started to migrate into the kitchen after Fritz headed over to retrieve his sandwich. Mike briefly laid a hand on Marionette's back to comfort him, but the moment he was at the table, the puppet fell behind and drifted to the stairs. He looked between both for a moment before silently dismissing himself into the basement, following behind Chance's thumping footsteps.
"Chance," Marionette called after him. "I was hoping I could ask you something."
"Shoot," Chance replied.
Though the puppet instantly second-guessed what he was doing. This was the first time he had seen Chance in a while and they were finally on decent speaking terms, and this was the first time he had an opening to broach the subject, but he started to flounder on the spot. Chance turned back to look at him and he realized he got himself tangled up again, this time with his words.
"I was… Well, with this Freddy's thing, I was… Do you think that maybe Charlie's mother might've signed off on this?" Not the question he wanted to ask or the person he wanted to ask about, but a good enough start.
"Was Charlie asking about that?" Chance asked in confusion. Marionette gave a semi-shrug, a partial truth. Chance sighed, "It's a shame she's in the position to ask these questions… She could've. Charlie's mother, I mean. She might've been approached about it and signed off on whatever just to get rid of them. She's been trying to get Freddy's out of her life since Henry died."
"Understandable," Marionette sympathized. "…But would she still have the rights?"
"She might. She and Henry were still married when he had his accident. She didn't get remarried until a couple of years later, but she's got a new family now and she's not going to want that around. She's going to want to cut Freddy's loose."
Marionette mask took a tightened look. Chance was a little confused by it until he started speaking.
"…I'm sorry, but I thought you just said she had a new family-."
"Don't tell Charlie about this."
"-when Charlie's only been deceased for little over a year… Or two, give or take some months."
"…Don't tell Charlie about this."
Marionette dropped his head into one hand and took a moment to process this. Wonderful, another painful familial revelation that he was expected to keep hush. It just kept getting better. With an off-tune noise as a short lament, he dared to ask, "What was Charlie's mother like?" Thankfully, considering what just happened, Chance wasn't suspicious enough to question it.
"She's a good woman. She and Henry loved each other dearly, almost as much as they loved those kids. She was always a little closer to Sammy, I guess that's why she took his disappearance so hard. I'll level with you, with how wrapped up in his work Henry got after that, their marriage wasn't going to last. She didn't marry Henry thinking she was going to become a target of William."
"I see… What was Sammy like?"
Marionette took the plunge and immediately regretted it as the question felt too out of place. Enough so that Chance looked at him abruptly and gave a confused, "Why?"
"I was just… thinking," the puppet tried to excuse. Turning his head partially away, hands clasping together, giving every unintentional tell-all he could.
"About what?" Chance pressed. It sounded like his paranoia was returning and this was the worst time to tell him the truth.
"About Sammy," Marionette confessed. Then, at the silence that followed, he added on in almost his defense. "A new Freddy's with numerous animatronics. It is possible- though I would hope it wouldn't be the case-."
"I get it," Chance said with a nod. The suspicion went away quickly and was replaced with a soberness. "Sorry, I'm just on edge about all of this. But finding Sammy at this new location? I don't think you have anything to worry about." His voice had fallen significantly as he said this. "You've met most of the Freddy's animatronics from back then, haven't you? What's the likelihood of you missing Sammy?"
"I… I guess pretty low… I just still wonder," he answered. He knew this was his opportunity to bring up his suspicions, but after hearing that sadness he didn't think he could broach the subject. Any chance he had of learning about Sammy without confessing his suspicions were out the window. He just couldn't do it. "I'm sorry I brought it up. I know how hard it is to talk about him."
"I'd rather bring him up than act like he didn't exist… Besides, you've got a right to be thinking about this. We don't know what's going on in that place, or who's in charge," Chance admitted. Marionette nodded and there was an uncomfortable silence that lasted until Chance broke it. "…Sammy was a good kid, not much more to say than that. He was too young to even have a chance to discover himself."
"True… I'm sorry I brought it up," the puppet said softly. He drifted back towards the stairs, like he was recoiling from the conversation.
"Don't worry about it. Like I said, at least we're still talking about him." Chance turned to head into the den. "You can stay down here if you want."
"I might. I'll be right back." With that, Marionette turned to head upstairs and get a moment to recollect himself.
What he didn't expect was to come around the corner and catch Charlie on the landing, positioned like she was coming down the steps.
"Charlie!" he said. Voice jumping in surprise and struggling to cover it.
"I wasn't eavesdropping," Charlie denied with a similar tone. Though from that startlement it was apparent that she had heard something.
Marionette looked back to see Chance fumbling with the remote and not paying attention, then came up the stairs to meet the Security Puppet on the landing.
"How much did you hear…?" Marionette asked worriedly. Charlie shifted from leg to leg; she had heard something.
"Not too much. Just you and Grandpa talking about Sammy," she admitted. After a moment she looked straight on at the other puppet and directly asked, "Is there something you want to talk about? About Sammy?"
She figured something out. Something must've clicked and she would know better than to think he was just spontaneously asking about Sammy, or maybe even be offended that he was sneaking to ask behind her back. It was at that moment that he knew he was going to have to tell her the truth. Instead of answering right off, he took her by the wrist and began to lead her back upstairs.
By now Jeremy had arrived and was standing in the kitchen with the others. At least, Natalie was standing, leaning against the counter. Fritz was currently going through the fridge while Mike sat at the dining room table with his head in hands. He had taken his gloves off, but his face paint was definitely going to be smeared after this- not that he cared. Daisy was climbing from the crook of Jeremy's arm onto his shoulder.
Marionette slipped around the corner and into the hallway. He led her into the bathroom and pulled the door closed behind them. Charlie might've joked about this but decided there were more pressing matters when she saw how Marionette immediately began wringing his hands after releasing hers.
"First off, how much did you hear about your mother?" he asked. She looked a little surprised by the question.
"Uh, nothing. I must've come in after then… Why? Did something happen to her?" she asked
"Not quite…" He really didn't want to say this, but he couldn't risk lying to her. He tried to break it to her gently. "Chance just told me that… your mother… your mother remarried."
"Oh," Charlie said. "That's fine. I don't care." Marionette's head snapped up with a startled and dumbstruck look on his mask. "Look… Mari, I know there's something on your mind. Something about Sammy. I'm okay if you want to tell me about it, I just want you to tell me. I can handle it," she gently coaxed.
The worry returned to his face, and he looked down at his wringing hands. She started to reach out for them, to pull them apart, but didn't make it before he pulled back and spoke.
"Charlie… I don't want to upset you, and I really, really didn't want to tell you about this unless I was sure, which I'm not, but I also don't want to continue waiting and have you think I'm hiding something-."
"Mari-."
"I think I might be Sammy?" It came out more like a question than a statement, showing just how uncertain he was. He waited for a surprised reaction, but it never came. Instead, her expression just softened. "Wh-What's that look?"
"…Do you remember when you were talking to Mike after we, uh, after "Old Man Consequences", and I came in and told you that I heard you talking about him?" Charlie asked. Marionette's mask shifted to a look of dread. "When I told you I just heard a little bit, I meant it… But I did hear you say something about you being Sammy."
"And you didn't say anything?" Marionette asked quietly, almost fearfully.
"I thought you would talk to me about it when you were ready. You were so upset, Mari. What we went through was awful, we couldn't handle anything else. So I waited, and when you didn't come to talk to me about it, and I never heard you or Mike bring it up again, I thought maybe you just… let it go," Charlie said with a shrug. "Everything was so emotionally tense. I thought you reconsidered it and just decided to let it drop."
"…I didn't," Marionette said. He turned away sheepishly, catching sight of himself in the mirror and, feeling awkward looking at himself, turned back to her. "I just don't have any evidence and nothing to go on. What's worse is that I can't very well start asking questions or everyone will find out… This isn't the sort of thing I would want to plant in Foxy's mind without having concrete proof. Baby or Michael's either."
"No, I get that. That probably wouldn't go over well," Charlie agreed. She rubbed her neck, then up the back of her head until she bumped her prong that jingled. It snapped her out of the silence, and she looked up to him. "But it's okay. You don't have to worry about me. Maybe we can try to figure this out together."
Marionette raised his head with surprise. "Really?" he asked. "You're not… upset with me?"
"Why would I be? I know exactly what you're going through. Back when I was a kid, I wanted to ask questions about Sammy too and couldn't because I was afraid of upsetting people. Trust me, I'd like to find out what happened just as much as you do," Charlie reassured. He made a motion like breathing a sigh of relief and she offered him a smile. "And if it so happens that you're him then, well, you're already sort of like my twin."
It took a second for this to sink in. She knew the moment it did though because it was right when she was about to speak, and it was cut off by him darting forward and clasping her into a tight embrace. She patted his back before returning it.
"…But what if I'm wrong? I could be dredging up bad memories for nothing," Marionette worriedly asked, squeezing a little harder.
"At least then we'd know! The way I see it, I'd rather go through the pain of finding out then living with the pain of never knowing. It's like lancing a wound. Yes, it's going to hurt, and yes, it's not going to look pretty, but if it means healing then that's all that counts," Charlie insisted.
She believed every word of it too. The lack of closure in Sammy's disappearance had always been frustrating. Even more so now that she knew the truth about so many things and yet still couldn't find that one answer. Maybe they could finally close the case on what happened to her brother, and maybe fate would've landed her with her twin all this time.
Though she wasn't worrying about the outcome just yet. Not too long ago they had gone through a similar occurrence when trying to prove Michael's identity, during which Ennard believed that he was Michael and the lot of them headed into the bowels of Afton Robotics to find the answer. It turned out that he was not, but that didn't seem to damper the relationship between Ennard and Baby. Charlie felt her and Marionette's relationship could handle it.
"I just wonder why he said what he did. That 'are you sure'," Marionette said. They drew apart from the embrace. "He was manipulative and sadistic, and either of those could be the reason… But something doesn't make sense. He couldn't have thought that would've upset me enough to stop me. If anything, he should've assumed me not being related to him was a relief! Why say it? I don't understand…"
"I don't either. I think he was trying to get at you, but I don't understand how…" Charlie agreed. She thought for a second before shaking her head. "It doesn't matter what he was trying to do. Unless we want to let him hang this over our heads forever, we have to figure this out together. Mike's already on board, we're on board… Not sure we can get through to Grandpa, but I'm sure I could pull some favors with Clay."
"Do you really think he would give us information on the disappearance so easily?" the Puppet asked hesitantly.
"Why not? I think he owes us at least one favor, and if we figure it out then we're doing him a HUGE favor," Charlie remarked. She turned to open the bathroom door before reaching back to grab Marionette's wrist like he did to her. "But first, let's go figure out what kind of Freddy's we're looking at."
Marionette managed to smile again with a quiet chime and followed her back out to the others. It felt like a burden was lifted off his shoulders.
Even though he had no idea what they were about to go up against.
The moment he saw it, Mike thought he was going to have a panic attack.
The sheer horror brought on by the completed building was enough to get his blood pumping and adrenaline flowing. Any fond memories of his and Marionette's midnight playground were washed out by the massive complex looming on the other side of a relatively vacant parking lot- save a group of cars parked directly around the door.
The thing looked like a mall. From the stout structure, to the numerous windows, to the large, glossy sign proudly proclaiming its name, the thing looked like a massive building made solely to drain pockets. Along with some cartoonish caricatures of what he assumed was the new band- he thought one of them might've looked sort of like Freddy- read the words: Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex.
There was that rolling feeling in his gut signaling the descent into madness. Either that or his body was rejecting the sight alone of so much gaudy neon. He wanted to make an insult, but if he opened his mouth, he knew a swear would fall out and give away how quickly he was losing his cool. He couldn't believe what he was staring at.
A quick glance into the driver's seat showed he wasn't the only one. Fritz had his jaw tight and was staring ahead with a glazed expression. It sort of reminded him of the look someone might get when they suddenly realized they were about to get fired without any severance pay and with rent due in only a few hours. Natalie was leaning over to look between the seats while Jeremy was as wide eyed as could be. Like when he showed Mike and Fritz his old mugshot photo.
Mike was suddenly very glad that Marionette had to stay at the pizzeria for a requested birthday party, because this might've sent him into a blind fury. Mike sure would've been in one if he didn't feel so much like he had to belch.
It wasn't until they pulled up to the front under that neon sign that Jeremy spoke up.
"Is that just Silver but a girl?" he asked, pointing up at the sign. Fritz glanced up; Mike couldn't stomach looking.
"…Maybe. Let's hope so, maybe we can get a lawsuit going," Fritz remarked as he shut off the car and started getting out. It wasn't until he was shutting the door that he noticed Mike hadn't moved. "Mike?"
Mike snapped out of it and unbuckled his seatbelt. "I'm coming."
The group was soon out of the car and walking towards the front door. A tense silence fell over them as they approached the broad entrance doors. Only a few steps away from something that could make or break them, and they were already feeling the pressure just looking up at it.
Mike took a deep breath to steel his nerves and strode in like he owned the place.