Mable: I've got to either grow a third hand or start typing faster. XD Enjoy!

Going Home in a Box

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"-Finally, Freddy shows up in his green room and I go to get answers from him. Turns out that the kid was with him the whole time, or at least was after whatever went down at the daycare. Which I will never know because apparently, I don't have access to any of the footage from last night, and that's IF there's any recorded footage. Freddy smuggled him downstairs, had him call home, and then let him out into the parking lot. Wasn't going to tell me! Just puts the kid out and goes to sulk in his green room. Which is fine if it means the kid gets out some way, but I would've liked a heads up."

Natalie cut off her venting before she could get started up again. Between her tone and how tired she looked after a full amount of sleep; it was abundantly clear that last night had been hard for her. Fritz could agree to that, having seen the exceptionally exhausted state she was in when coming home. More tired than usual and more frustrated than expected. Taking a semi-calming breath, Natalie finished off her recount.

"So, then I went back to the security room and watched for most of the night. I couldn't tell the Glamrocks what happened, not after how weird they were acting. I barely trust them as it is, I don't want to stir up some long-lost programming that'll trigger them to freak out. So, instead, they were prowling the place all night. Which meant I got to listen to Chica circle the lobby for an hour, offering candy to someone who wasn't there. They all headed back to their rooms a little before six and I was able to get out of there and go home… And that was it! That was the opening night of Freddy's and one of the most exhausting nights of my life."

The lack of any outburst during or after Natalie's recount of her night didn't necessarily suggest that all was well. Such as Foxy, who had somewhere along the lines- about the time Freddy had come into the picture- slowly leaned back in his chair, tilted back his head, and covered his face with his hand and his hook. A much more restrained action to his window shattering "WHAT?!" when Fritz dropped in after work to mention Freddy's fall on stage.

"Freddy, Freddy, Freddy. Bloody bear, foolhardy… Freddy," he muttered to himself, cutting off with a groan. Jeremy patted him on his coat clad shoulder and Foxy muttered a low, "One day in and here we go."

"All things considered, they're lucky that's the only thing that went wrong," Natalie remarked. She sent a look to Fritz who cracked a smile despite the stress.

Foxy hummed and lifted his hand to peek at her. "They open today?" he asked. She shook her head. "Hmm, good… Gives Freddy some time to rest…" he mumbled.

Though it was clear that wasn't what he was really thinking about, if his lost-in-thought look was any indication. Jeremy grimaced just slightly.

The other reactions weren't much better. Charlie was quiet but had begun to pace, Louise had showed a variety of animated expressions from the other side of Natalie, and it had taken until now for Mike to notice that he was clenching his jaw.

But the most concerning reaction- or the reaction that Mike considered most concerning- was the one directly beside him. The dead silent puppet who merely had a disapproving smile and slightly narrowed eyes. The fact that he showed this at all instead of the blank smile being a warning sign that there was something much worse brewing beneath the surface.

The two of them were standing a few feet in front of Natalie and Fritz, so it wasn't like they hadn't noticed it too. They just probably couldn't read it like Mike could, mistakenly thinking that the ability to emote was a sign that it wasn't so bad. He knew better than to get comfortable; a dead silent Marionette was typically brewing like a tea kettle, just waiting to let out all that steam.

"Sooo…" Mike dragged out slowly, stealing another quick side-glance at the ticking time bomb beside him before continuing. "Exactly how much 'I'm about to lose it and maul someone' energy was coming off the gator?"

"I totally got the vibes that if there wasn't a door there, he would've taken a swing at the sun, and with his arms he might've taken his head off," Natalie agreed with a nod. "Like, I didn't get the vibe that he was going to attack me, but I'm not putting myself alone in a room with him."

"How tall was the sun again?" Jeremy chimed up to ask.

"About this tall." She lifted her hand to a good guesstimate of where he stood.

"Well, there goes my adopt-the-sun plan."

"Yeah, now you might have to fight Scott for him," Mike remarked. It didn't lighten the mood much. At least not when he had to turn and look back at Jeremy, giving him another quick look at Marionette, who had slightly turned his head. Mike turned back to Natalie. "Any sign of the chick in the bunny suit?"

"I didn't see her," Natalie said. She bit her lip pensively, considering her next words.

"Well, there's that," Fritz offered. He might've not said anything if he noticed that look, but he didn't.

"But I know she was in there," she finished. Apparently, she hadn't said this to him earlier from how quickly that cautious optimism dropped to disbelief and dread. His look alone said everything.

"What?" he asked.

"My cameras starting goofing up after I returned to the office, so I know she was running around," Natalie explained. "…But that's fine! She can run around all she wants. Obviously, she knows not to mess with me anymore since I pulled the taser on her. If she wants to sneak around like a rat, then that's her choice."

"Huh. And when did that happen?" Mike asked. That nonchalant tone contrasting how hyperaware he suddenly became after she mentioned drawing the taser. Because it didn't matter how much she underplayed it, he knew Natalie well enough to know that she would've only drawn that taser if she was afraid.

Mike dared another look towards Marionette. His eyes had widened a little bit in surprise, but then narrowed past the point they had earlier. Another brief glimpse into the storm brewing beneath the surface.

Natalie must've caught her slip up and was quick to do damage control. "I just got creeped out. She was just skipping around acting goofy and trying to rile me up. She didn't even have the knife on her."

That sentence uncomfortably floated around the room before the puppet suddenly turned to his companion at his side.

"Mike, can I speak to you in private?" Marionette asked in a dangerously neutral tone.

"Sure. In the office or the prize corner?" Mike asked, pretending he didn't know what was coming.

"In the bathroom."

"Ah yes, the soundproof vault. That's not a sign of things to come," Mike remarked. He then followed along as the Puppet made a brisky beeline towards the hallway and into the bathroom without sharing any further glances at anyone.

The next sign would be when he came into the bathroom to find Marionette standing at the other side facing the wall, standing as stiff and still as a board while equally silent as one. The man raised his brows and slowly closed the bathroom door behind him before walking over, reaching him in only a few steps.

"Mari?" he asked with concern. The Puppet made a discordant little sound and his head twitched to the side.

"It's all happening again…"

"It's all-."

"IT'S ALL HAPPENING AGAIN!" Marionette exploded. His volume only accentuated by a mechanical screech from his chest.

It was enough to get Mike's eyes wide and his mouth shut, but not enough to make him back away. Marionette raised his hands to his head, hands clawing and wringing at air as he gave another infuriated cry.

"This is how it starts, Mike!" he cried. "It starts with broken machines and children left behind, and RABBITS! ALWAYS RABBITS!"

"Take it easy. You're not wrong, but he got out. The kid's okay," Mike said, trying to talk him down. He knew he was upset, but he didn't expect this level of upset. Apparently, this kid was the tipping point.

"But what about the next one?! I have trouble believing that some lone child was spontaneously left at the Pizzaplex on accident!" Marionette pointed out. Purposefully yelling at the wall or the ceiling or the bathroom stall, anything other than Mike. "And the only reason he got out was because of Freddy, who for some strange reason IS ALIVE!" he spat. "I didn't PUT anyone in Freddy, SO WHO DID?!"

"That's a good question, but unless someone scribbled it on the bathroom wall, we're not getting answers in here," Mike said. The Puppet let out a pained noise and he snapped to attention. "Hold on. Are you okay?"

"No, I am not okay! I can't believe this!" Marionette vented. A growing dial tone sound in his chest grew worse with those words, before fluctuating, along with a hitch in his voice. "I have to calm down. I can't let myself get upset-!"

Him trying to calm himself down sounded downright painful and considering the incident they had during the last round of bad news, it was probably going to hurt for both of them. Mike wasn't going to let that happen.

"No. That's exactly what you don't want to do. Just let it all out. I want to hear it, I can handle it," he reassured. Marionette finally looked at him and Mike made a goading motion with his hands. "Come on. Tell me where it hurts."

The Puppet snapped his head for a moment and withstood only a few more, twitching and shuddering, before he let the rest of it flow out. Along with a gush of tears, though no sobs to be heard in his audibly cluttered voice.

"I hate this!" Marionette exclaimed. "I was once the protector of children, of lost souls, of Freddy's, and here I am rendered a- a spectator! How could I become so complacent?! How could I let it get this far?!"

"You're not complacent," Mike calmly disagreed.

"How am I not?! If not for Freddy, that boy could've been murdered last night! Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't think that gator has the same wretched programming that was in those Afton made machines! Tell me you don't think that psychotic rabbit woman only backed down because her target fought back!"

Mike didn't have a rebuttal fast enough to cover up that he agreed with both of those. At that point it wasn't even worth trying to lie just to pacify the puppet, he would know.

The static returned to Marionette's voice as the pinpoints of light appeared in his eyes and he stood at full height. For a moment he was almost intimidating. No, he was definitely intimidating, Mike just knew that Marionette would never do anything to hurt him. He didn't scare him, he just made him feel unexpectedly small. Especially when surrounded by the distorted noises bouncing off the closed in walls.

Marionette's voice was filled with an authority that he couldn't remember ever hearing before.

"I am more than this, Mike. I am more than just an entertainer. A ticket taker in the back of a prize corner. More than the protector, more than the reaper, more than the complacent! I am the soul of Freddy's!"

There was nothing to say to that, but he was convincing enough Mike believed him. He just silently stared back at the lighted eyes gazing into his own. Heat spreading up his neck from his collar.

The heaviness and silence suffocated the room for only a little longer.

"Did-?!" Marionette suddenly continued. "…Did that sound insane just now? Because now that I said it out loud, I think that might've sounded totally insane."

Mike snapped out of his fog. "What? No… A little bit, but you noticed." He made an 'okay' symbol with his hand. "Totally sane."

He decided it was best not to mention how warm he got. If he was showing it, he'd just blame the stuffy bathroom.

The tuneless noises fell into a dull hum Marionette slowly turned himself towards the sink. His hands resting on the counter as he eventually lifted his eyes from the drain to look at himself in the mirror. His stripes were oozing off his mask and dripping onto his chest and the tiles.

His voice was so quiet, now devoid of all the other sounds and yet Mike could barely hear it.

"None of this would be happening if I was still there…"

With that confession, Mike finally saw the root of Marionette's guilt.

Marionette lightly thumped his fists on the bathroom counter before wavering there a minute and then slowly sliding to the floor and to his knees, dropping his arms limply to his sides.

Mike was over to him in an instant and hooked his hands under his arms to pull him up. "Come on, don't do that. This is the last place you want to do that. You know this floor's dirty."

"Not as dirty as my conscious."

Between that defeated little comment and how limp his body was, it was clear to Mike that he wasn't getting him back up off the floor. So instead, he moved his hands up to squeeze and then pat his shoulders reassuringly.

Besides, that wasn't the important part. Now he had the floor, and he was going to say his peace.

"If you were still at Freddy's this exact same thing would still be happening because you wouldn't be at the Pizzaplex. Chances are you'd be stuck in one of the spinoff chains or in a warehouse somewhere, confined to your box, wasting your life waiting for the eventual. Even if you were at the Pizzaplex, you know what Fazbear Entertainment's capable of. They could've had you shackled up with so much programming that you would've been stuck serving in a prize corner that wasn't yours watching all of this happen. I know you're stronger than that, but I know you would've stuck through it even when you didn't have to if you thought you could stop what was coming. That's not a life; that's a prison sentence."

He heard what sounded a lot like a mechanical whine and rubbed gently at his shoulders.

"And you've got nothing to feel bad about. Up until Natalie said all that, I was starting to think we were overreacting. That we were just assuming there was some sort of conspiracy going on at Freddy's because it's a godawful company that ruined all of our lives and is threatening to ruin our business. This is the first time we've gotten real concrete proof that we've got to do something. Freddy being alive doesn't count. There's practically twenty places across Utah with haunted animatronics living in them. That's not as much of a red flag as you'd think it is. Rabbit chick's borderline, but what were we supposed to do? Barge in there? Blow Nat's cover and give her full reign? We had to be careful."

Marionette gave a somber little nod.

"Now I'm going to be straight with you because you're going to see through me if I start doing the whole 'it's fine, we've got this' spiel again. Something's up at Freddy's. We're got a huge problem brewing over there and it's a lot worse than just some friendly competition, whatever the hell happened last night proves that. And it's becoming abundantly clear that nobody over there's going to do anything about it until someone gets hurt. If that means we've got to step in and cover their shift, then whatever, we'll do it. Even one life is worth more than spiting Freddy's, especially if it's a kid's."

"Of course," the Puppet quietly agreed. "…But there must be something more."

"You better believe we're going to do something more. You said it yourself, you're the protector of Freddy's and I'm your backup. They dropped the ball, and we step in. We're not being complacent, we just gave them a chance to do their job," Mike said with the slightest edge of acidity. "Now we fix it, just like we always do." His voice softened considerably to add, "Don't beat yourself up for something that hasn't happened yet. We can still save them."

The words nudged some deep-set programming and caused Marionette to flinch the slightest bit. To become more aware, if only for a moment. Then relaxing back into his companion's affirming grasp. He tilted and turned his head to rest the edge of his mask against Mike's hand before snaking his own hand up to gently take the other one. They stayed like that for a few quiet minutes.

During that time Mike took note of the lack of pain of any kind. No hallucinations, no voices, no headache or burning touch. All of that overwhelming build-up was simply not there. This seemed to confirm his suspicions and Mike released a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. It felt like he had been holding it for weeks.

Only once the constant hum had dimmed and the posture of the puppet relaxed did he know he had truly calmed down. He really wished he could leave it like that, so he braced him with a squeeze of the hand.

"I know I've asked you this before…" Mike began softly. "…but how many did you save?"

"So many," Marionette answered. "Too many."

"Any unaccounted for?"

"…Yes."

Mike inhaled deeply and exhaled through his mouth. "So maybe."

"Maybe," Marionette agreed, understanding what he was saying. "…But not if they're new."

"So, probably not Freddy."

"Not from what Foxy and Natalie have said, no."

They fell back into silence. After a bit, Marionette shifted like he was going to get up and Mike helped pull him to his feet, even though he didn't need the help. The Puppet pulled a few paper towels out from the dispenser and dampened them under the faucet while Mike rubbed at a small purple stain left on his pants.

"I'm sorry," Marionette said, wringing the napkins in his hands.

"Don't worry, it comes out easy," Mike answered.

Marionette looked to him in confusion and noticed the spot, and he actually managed a chime. He offered the wet bundle which Mike rubbed into the spot for a second. There was still a slight stain, but nothing that wouldn't get out with a wash. Besides, it was nothing compared to what had leaked onto the puppet's chest. Two seconds addressing himself and then he turned to work at Marionette, gently brushing his hand away when he tried to stop him.

"You don't have to," Marionette said quietly, guiltily.

"Are you kidding? And let my puppet go out in public looking like this? There's no way," Mike replied.

The puppet gave a hushed trill that slowly grew into a warble at the smoothing and cleaning of his velveteen textured fabric. The tears came off his fabric much easier than the pants, but Mike still took his time and soon there was only a dull tint from where it had been. Mike was going to toss the napkins in the trash, but Marionette caught his hand before he could do so, softly wrapping his fingers around it and holding securely.

Mike met his gaze without much surprise, seeing that a solemn but steadfast expression had taken his mask.

"Tonight," Marionette said, tone dead serious. "We are going in there tonight, and we are finding that rabbit, and we are finishing this tonight."

"Fine by me," Mike agreed without hesitation. If anything, he was waiting for this moment, knowing that eventually it was going to come.

The puppet nodded then leaned in and kissed him, reigniting the heat that had previously started to fade. Once they parted, he circled Mike before leading him out by the hand. The man tossing the napkins sideways into the trash as they went.

Marionette got a glimpse out of the hall and into the dining room first. Upon which he gave a disappointed, "Oh…"

"What? Everyone heard?" Mike guessed.

"Yes, and everyone left," he replied. Indeed, they stepped out into a dining room now largely devoid of life- save for the voices from the kitchen and the redhead and other puppet at a table, Charlie and Carlton. "Except for them."

"Our little thrill seekers," Mike said with a cheeky grin. He then started heading over, with Marionette meandering alongside him, less than enthused about his previous volume.

Carlton was sitting at a pulled-out chair while Charlie was leaning on the back of another one. She noticed them coming over before he did and straightened up right away.

"Heeey…" she greeted.

"Ayyy," Mike replied with a slowly raising thumbs up. She got a small, almost incredulous smile. "So, did you catch all of that or should we bring you up to speed?" he asked. Now Marionette gave him a similar but much less amused look.

"I was under the distinct impression that Mari might not like the bunny," Carlton remarked, hands tented and pointed them at said puppet. Said puppet who gave him a look that was enough to get him up and out of the chair and back to sweeping the front mat, which was where he was headed before Natalie began her retelling of the last night.

"Assuming you didn't hear much more than that," Marionette began. Any tinge of irritation quickly dissolved back to seriousness. "We have decided that tonight's the night we will see the Pizzaplex for ourselves. We'll sneak in after midnight."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Charlie asked. She didn't sound shocked or even too worried, just like she was considering it. Like they had suggested renting a different kind of movie instead of breaking and entering.

"Let me put it this way: at this point Freddy's is one bad idea away from someone getting seriously hurt, and if it's not us then it's going to be somebody else. Might as well even out the odds," Mike said. It wasn't a joke either.

"Not that we intend to hurt anyone," Marionette assured.

Mike raised a finger and interjected, "Except the rabbit."

The Puppet didn't even laugh. His eyes slightly narrowed as he responded with a distant, "Oh yes. The rabbit."

The man looked at him for a moment before turning to Charlie and giving a quiet, "Obviously that was a joke, but you know." He gestured towards Marionette, and she nodded.

"Right… Then maybe I should stay home tonight and we can work out a plan. It shouldn't be that hard to get in. Foxy's pretty much doing it on a weekly basis," Charlie remarked.

Though this comment snapped Marionette out of his moment as he realized what she was offering. "Oh, no! You don't have to do that!" he protested. He had returned to his familiar, more assuring tone of voice. "Foxy's been able to sneak around without getting caught because he's been waiting until the Pizzaplex is fully closed. Our best chance will be to do the same. That gives you plenty of time to go out and for us to still construct a plan together."

"But see, I was thinking I was going with you," Charlie suggested. Mike had already assumed as much from her earlier reaction.

"I was assuming you would be back before midnight," Marionette retorted with slight playfulness. "Burke strikes me as the type to enact his own curfew."

"Only on me!" Carlton called from nearby.

"Are you sure about this? I don't want to be screwing around while you have to take care of everything. I can help, we can plan this out together," she said. The other puppet gently laid a hand on her shoulder and cut off her protests.

"We will, but I don't want you to spend all night obsessing over the details like I'm going to. You've been looking forward to this for days. Go have fun with your friends! Freddy's can wait. Heavens knows we're going to have to wait for Freddy's," Marionette reassured her.

"He's right. You're just going to be watching the clock if you stay home. Go out and have a good night, we'll be fine," Mike agreed.

They both did have a point, so she agreed with them too.

…

But to tell the whole truth. Charlie might've been trying to get out of tonight.

Now since meeting back up with her friends some months ago, Charlie had seen them on a regular basis. Some more than others. Such as Carlton, who was now a fixture at Foxy's, and Marla who stopped by rather frequently. Her most frequent visitor was Jessica, who either came to the house or the pizzeria weekly, and who she talked to on the phone frequently. They were as tight as they once had been.

The exceptions were Lamar, who lived out of town so of course she wouldn't see him regularly, and John. She had only seen John a few times since they had met back up. He was always friendly, but she never sought him out.

If she was being honest with herself, she was avoiding John. As much as she could when he could always drop into the business at any time. It just felt so weird to talk to him and have so many unsaid words that she knew was lingering there.

She felt like she was supposed to apologize, but the words never felt appropriate. Therefore, it was just easier to avoid him while she could and make perfectly serviceable small talk when she couldn't.

Except for tonight. Tonight was special because Lamar was getting back into town and so everyone decided to meet up and hang out at Carlton's. They would have a pizza, watch some movies, shoot the breeze, and live like one of them hadn't died and become a puppet. Charlie was quite fine with that part. Save the fact that it meant she couldn't exactly avoid John.

She kept having the same irrational fear of being stuck alone in the same room and having nothing to say. It wasn't like Foxy's where she could look around until she found something notable enough to change the subject. If she was cornered, then there was nowhere to run.

"So, what's that noise mean?" Carlton asked.

Only then did Charlie notice the dull humming coming from her music box as her eyes stared both unfocused and fixated on the right air vent in front of her.

"I'm downloading a social interaction directive. It comes with icebreakers, one-liners, and a detailed guide on how to make the perfect screwdriver," she wisecracked. "Now that I'm a robot I can finally be the life of the party!"

He snickered a little at that and she almost relaxed, save her tight grip on the door rest.

"Okay, that's good. But what's actually going on?" he asked a few seconds later. Charlie sighed.

"I'm just a little nervous. That's all," she admitted.

"Nervous? You?" He sounded surprised. He was aware that he had been keeping up with everyone and that everyone was very aware of how she looked now, and of the company she kept who she wasn't nervous around, so this seemed like a weird time to get antsy. It didn't take him long to narrow down the difference between tonight and hanging out with him and Marla after a long shift.

"Is this about John?" Carlton dared to ask. He looked uncertain, like he knew he was pushing the boundary. Though just as quickly he decided to throw himself over that boundary with a cheesy smile and a waggling brow.

"Don't give me that look. In fact, don't give anybody that look. It's not doing you any favors," Charlie said unamused.

This only goaded him on. "You're downloading the hot date directive, aren't you?" he teased.

"Considering that John is dating my best friend. No, I'm not," Charlie remarked.

"Sorry. My bad," he said. He stayed silent for a second before that smile crept back up. "I forgot. You save that for weekends at Baby's." She gave him a narrowed little glare. "…Too far?"

"You know I can still drive. I could kick you to the curb and drive there myself," she remarked. Then a little more smugly added, "Or I could just I walk. I run faster than you drive."

"This is how you have to live when you can't hide a speeding ticket from your folks," he answered. Though then he finally got a little more serious. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to give you a hard time."

"Thank you."

"But… do you still have a thing for John?" he asked. She couldn't hide how startled she was by the question. "It's okay if you do. You two were dating before this whole puppet thing. It wasn't like you guys broke up; it just sort of… stopped."

"Yeah, this puppet thing puts a stop to a lot of things," Charlie admitted. He gave her an actually concerned side glance that she noticed. "But I've gotten over it. That's not even what this is about. It's not about how I feel about John, it's about… other things… Like that, umm… feeling you get when... when you know there's something that you eventually have to talk about, and you really don't want to talk about." Her mask tightened as though in pain. "Like that last phone call…"

"Oh. Yeah, I'm up to speed on that one. I know what you're talking about," Carlton agreed. He considered it before shrugging. "Then just don't talk about it. Change the subject! Talk about all the crazy stuff going on down at Freddy's. Sit by Marla, she knows how to read a room and can do it for you."

"Easier said than done if we end up alone together."

"We're a little old for Seven Minutes in Heaven, so I think we're going to notice if you and John split," Carlton said. He then snapped his fingers again. "I'll tell you what: if things start to get weird, I'll drop a line about the circus."

"That's- That's just going to make it weirder!" she protested aghast.

"I know, but it won't be about you. Right?"

"The hell it will. You'll loop it back to Baby." She knew her mistake the second she saw that smile edging back up. "Don't even-."

"Is that what you do with your strings when-?" Carlton tried to rush in, only to be abruptly cut off by something small and thin smacking him on his face. "…Did you just hit me with a piece of floss?"

"...Yes, I did! And I'll do it again if you say anything like that in front of anyone else," Charlie threatened. Realizing that the threat held as much weight as a piece of floss, she quickly added in, "Or I could just tell Baby."

"Oh GOD. Okay, that's the last time I open my trap for the rest of tonight. Don't tell Baby." While Carlton exaggerated his reaction, she could almost smell his fear. Though it could've been the fear of getting cut off from Ennard too.

Thankfully, they pulled up to the edge of Clay's driveway. Carlton got a somewhat unimpressed look as he realized he was going to be the one stuck on the street. Charlie wasn't expecting everyone to be here already but, counting up the cars, they were all here. Clay was likely home too, probably to keep an eye on things.

"You take the sheet, I'll carry in the pizza," Carlton offered while reaching into the backseat.

Charlie felt a sudden pang of embarrassment. It wasn't like they weren't going to ask when she walked up to the front door draped in a sheet like she was trick-or-treating. She knew that they knew she had to be careful, but that was just going to be one of those awkwardly painful reminders that even if she had the same voice and personality, she wasn't quite the same friend they knew for all those years.

"…No, that's alright. I can carry the pizza and you just stay close behind me. We'll be fine. Nobody will notice," Charlie said.

She knew he was sending her a funny look as she quickly scanned the surrounding street before opening her door and slipping out. She stayed hunched down as she shut the door and opened the back one to grab the pizza while he raced around to catch up with her, her pushing the door closed with her leg and then hastily crossing the yard. Looking out from under her hood and around feverishly the whole time.

What a night to decide not to wear her green jacket. Normally it was a constant, comfortable and reliable, but she didn't want them thinking it was the only thing she could wear. It turned out to have been a good thing when she went back to the house for her clothes, even if she hadn't really been wearing them. She was wearing a V-neck green shirt with her spare jacket, a purple one with a lot of pockets. Not Mike's, it might seem odd. No jeans, it would look too goofy.

But it did have a hood so she could keep her head covered as she made it to the front door. She raised her hand to knock but didn't go through with it, hand pausing in the air, bracing herself one last time before heading in.

"You can just walk in. I live here," Carlton reminded.

Charlie decided to spare him a response and went ahead to do so, finding Marla waiting on the other side of the door. She must've heard them pull up.

"Hi! We were wondering when you were going to get here! And not just for the pizza, I swear," she greeted with a tight hug. Marla's hugs were just tight enough to knock the wind out of someone. Charlie was always pleasantly surprised when reminded that the lack of lungs didn't change that. She returned with one arm while balancing the pizza with the other.

"What about me?" Carlton asked with mock betrayal.

"Okay, if I have to," Marla tsked. She let Charlie go and caught him in a quick hug, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

Charlie took a moment to peek into the living room, catching sight of Lamar sitting on the couch talking to Jessica who was leaning on the back of it. She couldn't see John, so she assumed he was on the other couch under the window.

"But the question is…" Charlie turned back to Marla who had pulled away from Carlton to send her an expectant look. "…Did you bring the goods?" Marla asked with a tiny smile slipping through.

Charlie knew what she wanted and beckoned with her own sly little smile. She turned away, giving herself one last moment to steel her nerves- "It's all good. Just a normal night hanging out with friends you've known for years. Relax." -and then stepping out into the living room.

She received a couple of warm greetings that she returned. As she expected, there was John sitting on the couch under the window. Their eyes met for a second, but she quickly snapped hers away and returned her focus to the task at hand. She set the pizza box down on the coffee table, spun it towards Marla standing at her right and smoothly pulled open the lid.

"Behold! The Dumpster Fire!"

Lamar leaned forward to look at it and pointed at a lump of chunky meat. "What's that?"

"Canned tuna," Charlie replied.

"That's what I thought it looked like, but I wanted to make sure," he replied.

Jessica took one look at the pizza before sending a flat look at Charlie. "Why?" she simply asked.

"Why not?" Charlie answered with a grin.

"Try it! It sounds weird but it's really good," Marla insisted, plopping down beside Lamar with Carlton quickly sitting on the other side. She continued trying to plead her case, with Lamar listening but not yet willing to commit to a slice.

Charlie didn't realize she had sort of drifted out of the conversation until John spoke up.

"How's it been going?" he asked. A friendly greeting in a quiet tone. Even without looking back to check, Charlie knew the question was aimed at her.

"Pretty good! I mean except the whole Freddy's thing, but hey, it hasn't put us out of business yet. That's something," she answered. It didn't sound too terribly awkward, and she turned to face him. He gave her a warm smile that she couldn't detect any remorse or somberness through, much to her relief. "How about you? It's been a while."

"It's been good. Just finished moving into my new apartment."

"Oh? Where?"

"Over by Pioneer Park. We've been rebuilding the complex after it got hit by that twister last year and they only just started renting out again."

Everything seemed like it was going well. Sure, there was always that awkward feeling in the back of Charlie's mind, but the conversation itself didn't seem weird. Nobody was staring, nobody seemed uncomfortable, it was totally fine.

Jessica mentioned something about getting plates, which John took notice of and got up from the couch. "I'll help," he offered. He dismissed himself with a, "I'll be right back," before following her out.

Charlie wasn't offended. On the contrary, it gave her a moment to recollect herself as Carlton still had hold of the conversation, which she only just now realized had swapped to eating spaghetti and mayonnaise. She took that in for about two seconds before deciding to buck up and go see if Jessica needed anymore help. She could see into the kitchen and saw that they were just getting dishes out, so it wasn't like she was encroaching on a moment.

It wasn't until she got to the back of the couch that she caught wind of the conversation around the edge of the doorway.

"It's not the sort of thing you blurt out over the phone," Jessica was whispering. "I don't think it's the sort of thing you can sneak into a group conversation either."

"I know… I'd tell her myself, but I don't think it should come from me. I don't want her to think I'm putting her on the spot, not when this is the first time I've seen her in months," John said. He sounded a little guilty, or perhaps just a little sad.

It was about her. It definitely wasn't about that last phone call though. It was about some sort of news they wanted to give her. She immediately jumped to them moving in together. Maybe they could be getting engaged, but she had trouble believing that Jessica would hide that from her. She couldn't be pregnant either; Jessica was too conscientious to have an unexpected pregnancy. This coupled along with John's new apartment made her think moving in together was the case.

But she had trouble believing that too, because Jessica had openly mentioned going on a date with John once or twice. Charlie had told Jessica upfront that she was fine with the two dating and that it didn't bother her. Why Jessica would decide to hide something so innocuous was odd to her. To spare her feelings, no doubt, but it had to be something more than that.

At this point there was no way she was walking in there, so instead she walked around the couch and sat down on the armrest beside Carlton, crossing her arms on her chest.

"Hey," she whispered subtly. He turned back to her. "…Do you know what John and Jessica are whispering about?"

"No, what?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's about them telling me something."

"Huh…" He considered it a moment. "I don't know. Did they tell you they broke up?"

They had absolutely not.

Charlie's mask eyes widened as it clicked. "…No."

"Carlton," Marla hissed lowly. She gave him a poke in the side. "I don't think that's the sort of thing you were supposed to tell."

"Oops?" he said with a shrug. She just shook her head while Lamar gave a disapproving but surprised look.

"And it's probably not that. It's probably that thing with Arty… Archie. Whatever his name was," Marla offered.

"Arty?" Charlie questioned. A familiar name, a friend from college, but she wasn't sure where that came from. It was enough to pull her from her shock though.

As luck would have it, this was when Jessica and John started coming out. Charlie flinched while Marla turned her head back to blatantly ask, "Did you tell Charlie about the Arty thing?"

Jessica's immediate reaction was slight startlement. "Uh, no, but I wasn't planning on bringing it up in front of everybody."

"What happened?" Charlie asked, managing to mask a normal expression.

"You know that guy you used to share a class with?" the blond asked. She passed off the plates to John and replaced her spot at the back of the couch. "I found out that he's been telling people you two were dating."

"What?!" Charlie gawked.

"Yeah, he was really doing that. So, I tracked him down and set him straight in the middle of a room full of people, so don't expect anymore rumors circling around… Except maybe the one about crazy blond lady who chewed out a guy at a club meeting. Or whatever he was doing."

"Good. Thank you. Arty was a nice enough guy, but we weren't anything beyond friends. Even friends was sort of stretching it. We just did a project or two together," Charlie said, a little relieved. "I didn't think they'd still be talking about me on campus, let alone my social life, considering I'm dead." She felt the tone shift the second she said that and quickly corrected, "As far as they know I'm dead."

"Don't be too surprised that people still remember you. You're a hard one to forget," John remarked. He got a touch of a smile.

"And it's not the first time. Remember when Mom ran into your aunt?" Marla asked. "She told Mom she thought you were secretly dating Mike."

The Security Puppet make a ringing little sputter that she smacked a hand to her chest to try to halt. "You didn't tell me that!" she cried.

"I forgot, sorry. I went to sleep and by the next day it was like it never happened," Marla said apologetically.

If Charlie could've blushed, she would've been beet red. This was probably the worst-case scenario of the evening: her friends were entirely comfortable with saying whatever they wanted to and weren't holding back. And for some reason the conversation seemed to be rooted directly in her nonexistent love life.

…Wait, why WAS the conversation still about her love life?

Paranoia began to climb up and poke at her music box until the combs tightened and ached to let out a no-doubt off-tune jingle. There was no way that they would all be working together to set something up, especially when Jessica and John were already worried about how they were going to tell her that they ended things. This was just a matter of circumstance, and yet she suddenly felt like she was under the spotlight.

"Alright, that's enough about me!" She had to change the subject fast, and there was one surefire way to do that. "…But if we ARE talking about me, then let's talk about something more interesting. I'm sneaking into the Pizzaplex tonight."

It worked like a charm in getting them off the topic at hand, but the price was that all eyes were on her and each one having a variation of a concerned or shocked look. Save Carlton, who just looked a little surprised that she brought it up.

Their reaction wasn't entirely unexpected, and she was quick to add, "Obviously this isn't going to be like last time." Punctuating it with a little smile.

"But you're not going alone," Jessica clarified.

"No way. I'm not making that mistake twice. I'm slipping in with Mike and Mari. Foxy's gotten in there three times now without getting caught, so the odds are in our favor," Charlie explained. Jessica didn't seem entirely satisfied though.

"You should've heard him unloading in the bathroom earlier," Carlton chimed up, trying to cut back on the tension. It only succeeded in getting him some weird looks.

"…Did he eat the Dumpster Fire?" Lamar cautiously asked. "Because this strikes me as the type of pizza that'll do that."

"Not Mike! Mari, the Puppet! It was crazy, he sounded like a deranged TV set."

As luck would have it, Carlton somehow managed to derail the conversation enough that Charlie was able to skirt out from questioning. She knew it was coming though because she could definitely tell the difference in Jessica's demeanor. Though that also could've been her having to crack down and actually try the pizza against her better judgement.

That aside, the night seemed to go pretty well. Clay was at work in his office and only came out once to get something from the kitchen, during which he briefly stopped in to say hello. Thankfully, he didn't ask any questions about Foxy's or Freddy's or anything. He just stopped by to see her and that was it, and it made her feel very human. If hanging out with the others like she used to didn't already do that.

The evening broke up a couple of hours later. Lamar was staying over instead of heading back to his parents' house, so Marla was the first to leave, with the others preparing to walk out soon afterwards. Carlton had agreed to drive Charlie home, so she didn't have to ask anyone else for a ride. Normally she would've asked Jessica, but she was afraid of the possible conversation.

Though if she thought she would be able to slip out the door without having it, she had another thing coming.

"You said you guys are going to Freddy's tonight?" Jessica asked. It had been a while since they talked about it, so it almost came out of nowhere.

"In a few hours." She could see a worried tug at the other's mouth. "But don't worry about me. I've taking my taser and I'm not going to be alone. It's going to be fine."

Jessica hummed and considered it before crossing her arms. "I guess that means there's no talking you out of it."

Charlie nodded with an apologetic smile.

Jessica sighed. "Which means I'm going to have to go with you," she said, and it was clear from the way she said it that she wasn't joking.

"What? No! You don't have to do that!" Charlie protested. Yet Jessica merely quirked a brow as though in challenge. "Just because I'M going to be fine doesn't mean that we aren't technically breaking the law. Or at least trespassing. You don't want to get wrapped up in this. If you got caught, it could jeopardize your future."

"Are you planning on getting caught?" Jessica asked. Charlie dropped her arms in exasperation and gave her a correlating look. The blond returned with a smile. "Then we've got nothing to worry about."

"…I feel like me telling you this is a bad idea is just going to rubber-glue back to me even though there's a huge difference in what's at stake. We're-… We're not entirely confident that the animatronics at this place aren't aggressive. There's some woman running around in a costume- You don't want to be involved in this. I don't want to risk your life getting you involved with this."

"I know, and that's why I wasn't with you last time," Jessica admitted with remorse.

"That wasn't your fault," Charlie quietly assured.

"I know, but I should've tried harder. I always think to myself that if I could do it over again, I would've tried harder. Well, here's my chance. Let me do this for you, please," she insisted. She managed a smile despite it all. "Besides, my first class isn't until noon. Why not live it up while I can?"

Charlie smiled despite herself but still took a moment to consider it. This was terribly risky, having another person coming, inviting someone without Mike and Marionette's agreement, but there was a part of her that still wanted her there even though she knew it was dangerous. Besides, it wasn't like Jessica didn't know what she was getting into. She held her own well in the Fazbear Processing Facility, and this would hopefully be nowhere near that dangerous.

In the end, she found that guilt was a factor too, because Jessica wasn't the only one remorseful for how last time turned out. If this could help her get closure, then Charlie owed her that.

"…Okay… Okay, but only if Mari and Mike say it's alright, and only if you promise me that you'll follow my lead. Just like back at that factory, okay?" Charlie insisted.

"I promise. You're the boss," Jessica agreed without hesitation.

Then they were in agreement. This would probably be fine, Charlie guessed. The guys would probably be wary about bringing someone else, but it wasn't like it was a stranger, and one extra body wasn't a lot to account for-.

"Can I come too?" John volunteered.

Charlie hadn't accounted for that one. Now she was in a bind because she had already said yes to Jessica and every qualification, she lined up to reason that Jessica could come were all lined up in John's favor too. Two extra people was a little more crowded, but not crowded enough to reasonably use it as an excuse. Maybe it would even get her out of the uncomfortable conversation that she had been dreading, or maybe push her more squarely into it.

"…Sure. The more the merrier… Well, no. Actually, it's probably the less the better, but if you still… If you're sure, sure," Charlie agreed. John didn't give an out by offering not to go; he might've been even more determined than Jessica.

Now, Carlton had witnessed this whole scene play out since he was standing right there, preparing to head out and drive Charlie home. It did admittedly take him until now to realize what Charlie was getting herself into, and he probably wouldn't have noticed it if not for the conversation they had earlier. He wasn't sure how to go about interjecting himself in without going all in, so he did.

"You guys talked me into it! Guess I'm going too," he said. Charlie sent him a baffled look and he returned with a wink. She caught the gest that he was trying to help but didn't know how much of it actually helped. Before she could decide, he turned to Lamar. "You up for a little adventure?"

"No thanks. I'm good," he swiftly declined. "The pizza's as adventurous as I'm going to get."

"Suit yourself, but you're going to be missing out. It's the only place in town where you can see a seven-foot bear running at Mach Speed," Carlton remarked.

"Spares us the trip to Alaska," John quipped. It got a smile out of Charlie, even if by now the weight of what she agreed to was sinking in.

She promised to call with the details before finally making it out the door and to the car, this time sprinting since she no longer had to juggle the pizza. She slipped into the passenger's seat and slid down into it wondering how exactly she had lost control of the situation that fast. At this rate she might as well have called up Baby and invited her along too. She was never going to believe this, or likely she would and get a little huffy at the Arty thing. Huffy was better than homicidal.

Perhaps this wouldn't go so badly. A lapse in judgement, yes, but surely they could salvage the plan before it began.

Now she had to figure out a delicate way to break the news to Mike and Marionette.