Mable: Hello again! Seems I was late on the chapter again. This is going to have to be where I put my foot down.
I am FED UP! Ever since I decided to lighten up on deadlines, I have found it impossible to finish a chapter on time. This was supposed to make it easier for me, to give me more time to work on a chapter, but instead all it has done is give me more time to procrastinate. It must end! I demand it!
So, next week I am going to have the chapter posted next week,and if it's not finished then I will just have to post an unfinished chapter and continue working on it afterwards. I will make. This. Happen.
Thank you for being so patient, and I hope you Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Forty-Eight
It was a little after four when they finally decided to leave the Pizzaplex. There had been no sign of the dancing rabbit woman, Sunny hadn't emerged from behind his balcony- though Jake dropped in for a while, and Jeremy had gotten plenty of time to hang out with Freddy, Gregory, and the Minireenas.
Mike had gotten a crick in his neck from falling asleep in the kiddie tunnels. Not that he regretted it, or else he probably wouldn't have been able to drive. Though waking up to find Forget-Me-Not staring down at him with silent judgement- and he knew it was her from that alone- wasn't the most pleasant thing to see first thing. It could've been worse. If he hadn't fallen asleep using Marionette's arm as a pillow, he could've very well woken up with a pressure bruise.
Not too shabby of a night. As long as he pretended to ignore the rabbit in the room and the software update, and that Fazbear Entertainment was brainwashing living animatronics, and that Marionette had been so broken up on the ground- Mike chose to keep to the tone at the end of the night for as long as he could. In which case it wasn't too bad. It ended on a high note if you stuck to the end.
Jeremy was finally starting to look tired. Which made sense considering that he had gotten out of pulling all-nighters. He was slouched in the passenger seat with his eyes closed and Rose curled up in his lap. Daisy and Forget-Me-Not were sitting in the back between Marionette and Charlie. Both of them seemed relatively awake, but they would need a few hours of rest at least before even considering heading into work.
Mike would too. It weighed on him that he had been away from the business so much. Though he knew this was important, Foxy's was both a vital part of their livelihood and his pride and joy, regardless of the jokes he cracked about it. Not to mention leaving Fritz with the heavy lifting. He wasn't shocked that Fritz wasn't bothered by it, Fritz was both aware of the situation and work-centered enough to be willing and able, but it made him feel like a freeloader.
But he wasn't going to tell anyone that. No, he was just going to start going back to work and pick up the slack. He was more than willing to do that. All he had to do was get a few more hours asleep and he could do that today.
Because he was still seeing moving shadows out the corner of his eyes.
Unless that was Foxy. Mike looked over his shoulder to check.
"There goes Foxy."
That woke Jeremy from his doze. "What? No."
"Should I turn around and check?" Mike asked.
"You don't have to. That's him," Marionette said flatly.
"There's a spot where you can turn around," Jeremy said. It was a turning lane so that Mike didn't have to make an illegal U-turn. Though he probably could've with how few cars were out here.
"I guess I should just be happy him and Michael are talking," Marionette added, still flatly.
"Talking behind your back?" Charlie teased.
"Yes, and I am tired of it," he replied deadpanned.
The car quickly caught up with the dark clothed figure. As it inched closer, the figure quickened its pace and started to walk further out from the road. Undeterred, Mike rode up directly beside him as Jeremy rolled down his window.
"Excuse me, Sir," Jeremy called out. "But I think you're going the wrong way. The ocean's back that way." He pointed his thumb back, barely hiding a growing smile. "You can't miss it. Just follow the sign with the pirate fox on it."
Jeremy couldn't see an expression under hood, mask, and dark of night, but he could assume from the lazy roll of the head that he was probably taking after his younger brother right now.
Within a few minutes they were back on the road again. Marionette and Jeremy having switched seats and Foxy now crammed in between him and Charlie. An arm slung around Jeremy's shoulders, and Forget-Me-Not sitting on his raised knee. He had also gone ahead and put his head back on, with Daisy fiddling around with his discarded Foxy mask.
Since he was here it seemed like any a time as any to be out with the news about how Fazbear Entertainment was 'correcting' their animatronics' behavior. They expected a visceral reaction, typical to Foxy's usual response, but instead he was surprisingly calm about the whole thing. In fact, his reaction was very much like Marionette's.
"I knew they'd be pullin' somethin' like that. Ye know how they be. 'Specially with all that fancy hi-tech technology they got pumpin' through that place," Foxy said. He scoffed in distaste. "It all be soulless. Pizza's on a conveyor belt, everything's blocked by passes an' keycards, an' instead of leanin' in on their true-to-like animatronics, they be tryin' to turn 'em into braindead husks like those Staff Bots."
"Which is even more crazy when you consider the fact that the biggest thing they've got going for them are the highly advanced animatronics," Charlie agreed, also bearing some of her bitterness. "They don't know what they have."
"Nothin's changed… Freddy say he get any of those updates?"
"No, but most of his band has gotten them. Which is probably why they obeyed a stranger with a badge so easily," Mike pointed out.
"That ain't surprising. Not with Freddy stickin' to the rules," Foxy said. He did seem more than a little relieved though.
"I don't know if I'd go that far. Freddy broke plenty of rules for us," Jeremy pointed out. "And I don't mean rules like not telling Natalie we were there. I'm pretty sure he doesn't have the okay to hand out as much free stuff as he does."
"Freddy only breaks rules when he's got a way around 'em. He uses these mental loopholes to talk himself into what he wants to do," Foxy explained.
"So, the only one who doesn't have the programming knows the trucks to work around programming. That makes sense," Charlie remarked.
"Don't let Freddy's goofy sorta vibe fool you. He ain't a fool, he's just a little… I think the word be 'optimistic', but that's a pretty foreign concept to me," the fox quipped. "How'd the Sun turn out?"
"He's going to be okay. He was sleeping it off when we left," Jeremy said.
"Good. I know Freddy's real close with him."
"You can say that again," Mike said with a half-laugh.
"What's that mean?" Foxy asked. Mike angled the rearview mirror so that he could flash him a wolfish grin before fixing it again. Foxy caught on fast. "…Oh criminy, Freddy."
"He really brightens up his day."
"Freddy," Foxy groaned. He ran a hand down his face and asked in a mutter, "What happened to Chica? I thought they had this good thing goin'."
"I hit her with a golf club," Mike bluntly answered. Which got Foxy to uncover his face and stare again.
"He was protecting Gregory," Marionette corrected, giving him a playfully scolding look.
It was then that Charlie remembered what Jake told her and Sunny confirmed. She considered keeping it to herself but then decided it was worth bringing up.
"So… Don't tell him or anybody else that I told you, but his name's Andrew. Sunny, I mean," Charlie said. "He told me in confidence, but if it can help put a name to the face…"
"Andrew?" Foxy looked over at her.
She was surprised at the recognition in his voice. "You knew him?" she asked.
"'Course I did. Used to hang out 'round Freddy's."
Marionette straightened up in surprise and turned to look between the seats. "You remember him? I don't remember an Andrew. What did he look like?" he asked.
"Yeah, you do. He was that kid that threw the piece o' pizza at ya. Was about yay high, black hair, always actin' up or makin' some sorta scene," Foxy described.
As he did, long repressed memories slowly returned, and Marionette's surprised expression fell to a slightly irked one. "Oh right. I do remember him…"
"I dumped a trashcan over his head for it," Foxy casually confessed to Jeremy, who raised a brow. "I might've given Mari a real hard time, but that didn't mean I was gonna stand aside and let some punk do it. I was the biggest punk in that whole business," he pointed out. Jeremy cracked a smile at that.
"I remember where I put him…" Marionette quietly interjected. His face now dour. "…It was in that dog animatronic. That one they used to keep in the back… I think he was named Sparky?"
"Ehhh, maybe Butch?" Foxy guessed.
"I suppose it doesn't matter what the character's name was. It was Andrew… That's what he meant when he said it was small body. I didn't even think it took. No less than a few days after I did it, he had been moved. To where? I'm not sure, and I'm not sure if I can ask him," Marionette regretfully said. He rested his chin on the car seat.
Mike reached over and gave him an assuring pat on the back before rubbing in little circles.
"At the very least he seems to be doing better now," Marionette said with a sigh.
"He seemed happy… Not when he was in pain, obviously, but he had a lot of fun with the girls. We all put on a little puppet show," Jeremy volunteered. Foxy hummed positively.
"And I hear he has a real nice boyfriend," Foxy agreed. Jeremy guffawed while Marionette chuckled and chimed. "Another one a'counted for's good enough in me book. Ye can't change the past, but we can work on the here-and-now. Speaking'a which, you see anything of that bilge rabbit madwoman?"
"Oh, uh…" Marionette would've broke into a sweat if he could've, but instead he just slinked back behind the chair. "…We'll talk about it when we get home."
"Aww, bloody 'ell. What'd she do this time?" Foxy groaned.
Marionette seemed reluctant to tell Foxy. Unsurprisingly, considering all that would be revealed with it. He tugged a string from his wrist and wrapped it around his fingers nervously as he considered how to go about it.
Mike watched him, noticed what was going through his head, and decided to take some of the pressure off. With a slow exhale, he began to explain for them.
"Her name's Vanny, and we ran into her on our way to Parts and Service. We got sidetracked into this set of hallways full of Endoskeletons. They were already a pain to deal with, but that's another story. We got separated from Gregory and Mari went after him while I went back around the way we came to see if there was another way through. What we didn't know was that this disturbed woman was down here with us, and the second she got Gregory alone she started chasing him around. Ran him right back up to me, but then I scared her, and she bolted. I grabbed Gregory and went after her, but she shut a door on us… And then-."
"And then she ran into me," Marionette said. Mike looked to him and silently passed over the reins. "My intention was to scare her. Still thinking that she was a non-threat who I could scare off from Freddy's."
"But not anymore?" Foxy murmured. He had already caught on.
"...Not quite… She was terrified the moment she saw me. I gave her a warning and began to pursue her down a hallway. She was doing everything she could to run away from me, but I blocked her way. I threw myself at her intending to grab her by the shoulders and frighten her to the core. Cruel, perhaps, but it was no different to what she was doing to Gregory… But… But when I touched her, I was filled with pain."
"Was it like when you touched that Scarecrow Baby?" Foxy asked.
"…Yes," Marionette admitted.
"I see…" The pirate was silent for a long moment. Then he rather bluntly asked, "And you still think she's a human?"
"…Yes?" Marionette said this a little more uncertainly. Though it was unclear if it was because he wasn't sure or if he was questioning the question itself.
"Think she's possessed?" Foxy continued.
Marionette hesitated, so Charlie answered in his stead.
"Yes. Maybe. It's hard to tell because she wasn't showing any of the signs that Clay was, but she went from one personality to another faster than even Sunny switches," she explained. Foxy turned to her in surprise.
"Ya saw her too? But ye weren't with them," he clarified.
"No. In fact, we ran into her while she was running away from them. She, uh… She was pretty scared of us…"
Charlie reached down for the handle of the knife and rested her fingers around it. Fidgeting it and partially turning it in her pocket as she considered how to go about this, and whether to go about this or not.
"Whatcha got in yer pocket, Lass?" Foxy asked uneasily.
Well, there was no going back from this. She sent him a solemn, though partially deadpanned expression as she slowly withdrew and then revealed the knife to him.
His eyepatch popped up. It would've been comical in any other situation. In fact, in the tenseness of this situation, the smile that Charlie couldn't restrain was equally from amusement and anxiety.
"Ya got that offa her?!" Foxy cried out, pointing his hook at it.
"If by got off of her you mean smacked out of her hand and stole for myself- yes, I did," Charlie clarified.
Foxy gave a rather un-pirate swear before looking suddenly to Marionette. "She didn't have this round you an' the kid, did she?"
"No. Elsewise I would've expected her to try defending herself," the puppet said.
"No, we saw her get it out. She had it shoved in her boot or pants. Down here somewhere," Charlie said. Vaguely gesturing to the area on her leg.
"She pull it on ya?"
That seemed like a natural conclusion to make, but Jeremy suddenly started shaking his head like they were on the edge of disaster. Which also reminded her who she was talking to and, at Jeremy's silent insistence, she tweaked her answer.
"She did. I think she might've mistaken me for Mari. Not that a knife's going to do any good against an animatronic, and she took off afterwards anyway. Even before I got the knife from her," Charlie explained.
It wasn't to imply that Foxy wouldn't be any more protective of her than Jeremy, but there was a huge difference when it came to drawing that knife. Knives could damage animatronics only if they could pierce their exterior. Her thicker skin could've probably deflected it well, and even if it didn't repairs from a knife wound were a pain, but not deadly. A knife aimed at Jeremy was much more of a threat than one at her.
And that was without what that knife meant.
"Atta girl," Foxy said. Though his voice was low and much less than celebratory, which was understandable. At least he didn't seem suspicious.
Unfortunately, there was someone who didn't feel like leaving it at that.
"Uh!" Forget-Me-Not interjected. She tapped Foxy's leg impatiently until he looked at her and then held out her hand and made a jabbing motion. A stabbing motion, maybe, then pointed at Jeremy. "Uh! Uh!"
Jeremy could only watch helplessly as she ratted him out. So much for thinking Charlie could cover for him. He could only hope that Foxy didn't catch on- a hope immediately dashed when Foxy snapped his head, literally snapped, towards him.
"She tried to stab you?!"
"No!" Jeremy quickly denied. "No, no, no! She just… I was there when she pulled the knife on Charlie! She's just worried about me for, heh, obvious reasons."
But Forget-Me-Not continued to make protesting noises and jabbing motions, seemingly frustrated that Jeremy wasn't being forthright with what happened.
"I was wonderin' why Charlie was lookin' at ya weird before she told me!" Foxy said. Charlie discreetly slapped her hand to her forehead before giving Jeremy an apologetic shrug. "What happened, did she take a swing at ya?!"
"No! I mean, not really. It was more like a 'stay back, I'm going to shoot' thing. Or not shoot, but you know. Stab," Jeremy tried to brush off.
"So, she pulled it on you, not Charlie," Foxy clarified.
"Well… I think it still counts as both of us, but technically yes."
Foxy was about to lose it. The fact he hadn't so far was due to sheer willpower. The refusal to make a big scene and have everyone think he couldn't control his emotions- which he assumed was why this was left out, and it partially was.
"So, just to make sure we're clear…" Foxy began calmly. Though that being the calm of an ocean hiding a riptide inside under the surface. "She chased Gregory, she threatened you with a knife, she attacked Mari, and she might be possessed."
"…That pretty much sums it up," Mike volunteered when nobody else did.
"Let me out of the car."
Mike locked the doors.
"Gabe, come on. It's not a big deal," Jeremy began. That got a look and he quickly backtracked. "Okay, it is a big deal, but we already took care of it!... As much as we could. We scared her off!" he tried to rationalize.
"That's great. I'm going back to make sure," Foxy said. "Move over, I'm getting out."
"You're not diving out of a moving car," Jeremy said flatly.
"That's on Mike. He can break if he feels like it."
"Don't count on it. I'm already falling asleep at the wheel," Mike remarked. "Look, Foxy, it's late, Freddy's got a handle on it. Let's just get home-."
"Freddy does not have a handle on anything going on in that place!" Foxy suddenly vented. "You saw it for yourself, Mike! He doesn't have any real pull! If he ever puts his foot down, they'll just drag him down into the basement and 'fix' him!"
"Gabe, I can't do this tonight! I need you to work with me!" Jeremy suddenly yelled.
It was so sudden that it almost felt unwarranted. That it made Foxy jump and silenced him immediately. He looked to Jeremy, as did Marionette, Charlie, and the Minireenas, and there was an uneasy silence.
Jeremy was instantly embarrassed, but he was also so overwhelmed that he couldn't dwell on it long.
"…Freddy can take care of Gregory. Or Natalie, or Sun and Moon. One of them can watch him for the next couple of hours," he got out. Taking a few deep breaths to slow his racing heart. "We'll figure something out in the morning. Or later.
"I'm sorry," Foxy apologized. Not just sorry from being called out either if his worried tone was any indication. It was much clearer without the faux pirate drawl.
"No, don't be sorry. You're right. You're right, we should do more. We've got to do something more about this… It's just been a rough night and I can't really think straight," Jeremy said.
He didn't have to say anything more. Foxy, whose arm had never left its place from behind him, slid in closer and rested his head against his. Jeremy leaned back against him, accepting the motion and the silent apology that came with it. Foxy could tell he was still tense but over the next few minutes Jeremy eventually began to sink further into his shoulder, somewhat relaxing in the process.
Daisy climbed around by the back window before kneeling behind him and rubbing her hands through his hair in a comforting way. He reached a hand back to give her head a pat, missed, and instead had her pat his hand in return.
The car remained silent up until they were driving through Hurricane approaching the house.
"…You know what we could do," Mike suggested. "See if Natalie can get that security footage from last night. If we can catch that rabbit broad on tape, then we can show it to Wight and get him to do something."
"If he would do anything beyond covering it up," Marionette remarked.
"Exactly. He's not going to want this getting out to the public. It's hard enough pretending that those well-documented missing children cases were 'rumors'," Mike explained. "If that gives Natalie more pull then she might be able to convince him to bring in help. Or better yet maybe get him to have the animatronics moved out for a night. Then we could all go in, track her down, hogtie her, and hand her over to Clay or whoever the police chief is of that jurisdiction. Problem solved and we go back to seeing Freddy's a competitor instead of hotbed of rabbit-related crime."
"…That's not a bad idea actually. We might have to iron out the details, but I like the part about blackmailing Wight," Marionette remarked. Though the playful tone deflated. "But we might not be able to get her on tape. Natalie couldn't."
"We'll find a way. If not with one of their security cameras, then with the camera or a camcorder. Even the most haunted objects have angle where you can catch them. You just have to find their good side."
"Quit trying to flirt with me in front of my brother."
"Never."
"Great job staying on topic, guys. You almost made it five minutes," Charlie chimed in.
Foxy scoffed in agreement. Mike and Marionette paid neither much mind.
The rest of the ride was relatively quiet, but that was largely because the ride only lasted a few more minutes before they pulled up into the driveway. Then they started the process of moving everyone inside.
Mike carried the plastic Pizzaplex branded bag with the video tapes in it and unlocked the door for the rest of them. Speaking of those tapes, the process of carrying them in and reminding him that he had them convinced Mike to spare a few more minutes and watch them now. Lest they distract him from getting decent sleep.
Michael was still on the couch and greeted them as they came in. "You're home early."
"Define early," Mike said dryly.
"I'm still awake," Michael returned.
Mike gave a sort of 'yeah, yeah' and waited for everyone else to get in. Then he headed over to the TV and knelt down in front of it. He pulled out one of the tapes and held it up. "Mind if I borrow the TV?" he asked.
"Go ahead. Anything's better than this," Michael replied.
Mike pushed the tape into the VCR, rewound it to the beginning, and pressed play. He scooted back a bit and sat down so he wouldn't be blocking the TV screen. A moment afterwards, Marionette settled on the carpet beside him. The others took places around the living room. Charlie in the chair, Foxy and Jeremy leaning on the back of the couch, and the Minireenas sitting in front of it on the floor, cross-legged.
Then the video started. Mike wasn't sure what he was expecting, but if it was a verbatim step by step guide of working at the daycare then he got it. It was the most basic guide and unlike the training tapes he had become accustomed to at the old Freddy's, it was squeaky clean. No allusions to hiding bodies, no warnings of dangerous animatronics, just a guide to checking in children, the rules of checking out children, and etiquette dealing with parents.
They fast forwarded through a portion of it, and nobody complained. Though Marionette seemed disappointed.
The second video, uncreatively labelled as Daycare Training Tape #2, had much the same. Though instead of being about the check-in desk, it dealt with the gift shop, the arcade, and what to do in various emergencies. Though not exciting emergencies, more like 'what to do if you suspect a shoplifter' and 'what to do if the bathroom is out of order'.
It wasn't until the last line of the tape when something interesting was hinted.
"In tape three we will discuss working around and with the Daycare Attendant and party etiquette."
"Oooh, now it's gonna get interesting. Let's see all'a Sunnymoon's dirty secrets," Foxy said. Rubbing his hook against his palm in a mock-sinister way.
Mike checked the bag again before giving a defeated, "We don't have tape number three."
"Yer kidding."
"I wish I was."
Foxy let out a disgruntled noise and a mutter of, "And I'm stayin' up fer this?"
"This is the highlight of my night," Michael flatly answered.
"Ours too," Charlie countered.
"These people," Mike muttered. Marionette gave him a sympathetic pat on the back and a grin.
The next tape was put in and played. This one went over the rules and regulations of the Fazbear Theater. Basic things like how to run the snack bar, running the projector system, what to do if either broke down, and so on so forth.
The only thing notable being one line in the tape: "The Daycare Attendant will come down and entertain the children. Do not stop the Daycare Attendant." Which got a chuckle out of Mike.
The tape ended shortly afterwards, and it was onto the last one. He glanced over the label and perked up as he remembered what it was.
"Here we go. This is it, folks. This is the big one," he announced.
The voices behind him seemed a little doubtful but Marionette gave a curious little hum as he read the label himself. He rested a finger on his chin as Mike pressed play, not needing to rewind it.
The video opened in the same room the tapes had been found in. The was shuffling around the camera.
"Okay…"
From the height of the camera, it was likely either set on or beside the television. Suddenly a technician walked into view. It was clear he was a technician from the jumpsuit he was wearing. He sat down on the padded floor in front of the camera before patting his knees.
"Alright, guys. Pat-a-cake time. Sunnydrop, you're up first," he said. His voice was upbeat and friendly, like he was coaxing a child, and he was looking at something just outside the camera.
That's when the Sun stepped into view. Except while it had the same pants and relative build, the face was widely different from the one they were familiar with. It has an open mouth smile with a little gap in the upper teeth and eyes with blue-grey pupils instead of being fully whited out. His movements were also much more subdued than Sunny's typical bouncy motions.
"That's Jake," Charlie said in surprise. She sat up in the chair as she watched him come over and sit down in front of the technician.
"Okay, hands up," the technician instructed. He held up his hands and the Sun mimicked. The man clapped his hands, the bot followed suit, and then they began to play.
They started slow but began to pick up speed the longer they exchanged claps. The technician kept his eyes downward, watching the Sun's hands and seemingly checking his reflexes. They continued on for about a minute before he stopped with a final clap.
"Good job! Okay, okay…" He dug around in his pocket before pulling out a length of already tied string. The Sun held out his hands and the technician hooked it over them. "Cat's cradle, please."
The Sun began to lace the strings in his fingers until he made a square design between his fingers. All the while the technician studied closely. The bot held it out towards him, and he clapped.
"Great job, Sunny! Scoot over?" he asked. The Sun untangled his fingers and scooted to the side. The technician craned his neck to look up at the ceiling. "Your turn, Moondrop. Come on down!"
"I don't feel like it," Moon grumbled from off camera.
The Sun rolled his head back in an exasperated motion to look up towards him. The technician seemed a little disappointed as well. The look on his face suggested this wasn't a new phenomenon.
"Okay… Tell you what, you come down and play a game with me and I'll bring you in some Fizzy Faz," he offered. There was a disagreeing grumble as a response. "Not good enough, eh? Let's see. We've got coloring books. I could bring you in more paint if you're really careful… Still no?" He hummed with consideration. "How about more movies?"
"I'm tired of watching children's cartoons."
"I'll bring you in a real movie. An adult movie- Not an ADULT movie, but a movie for adults, not kids."
There was a pause and a jingling before Moon suddenly dropped from the ceiling and into camera view. He landed alongside the Sun before sitting alongside him. He looked almost exactly the same to the Moon they remembered.
"That's the Sun we know. He's both the Sun and the Moon now," Charlie explained to Michael.
"Huh. He doesn't sound like Ennard," he noted.
"Only when he's the Sun."
The technician raised his hands and finally the Moon cooperated. He impatiently clapped back. Apparently with more force than the man was expecting as his hand popped back a little. He didn't comment on it however and instead continued to play the clapping game to test the bot's reflexes.
Though instead of slowly gaining speed like the Sun, the Moon started to speed up immediately. Going faster and pressing harder until he was leaning forward at the technician was having to draw back. Quickening faster and faster until the technician fumbled, and then the Moon instantly drew his hands back. Palms still up and face spinning mockingly at the technician.
"Great job, Moondrop! That was really good, you're showing a lot of progress."
From the deflated sag of his shoulders, this was obviously not the response that the Moon had wanted. The technician draped the string on one hand and the bot pulled it back and quickly complied with lacing the string on his fingers. He swiftly pulled it into and then flashed a star symbol before immediately pulling it apart again. He was irritated, impatient, while the Sun sat beside him with his head turned towards him like he was watching.
"Now let's see you two do it together. One more quick round of Pat-a-cake and you're good to go," the technician encouraged.
The Sun turned towards the Moon, who was now all but staring down the technician. The Sun insistently tapped him on the arm, or poked him in the arm, and finally the Moon turned on his hands to face him. They began to repeat the same routine, but unlike with the technician the Moon kept a quick but followable pace. The Sun kept up with him fine enough and the technician stopped them after about a minute.
"And there you go. Good job to you both! You're doing a lot better," he said. He held the string for a moment before shoving it back in his pocket. "I think we can go ahead and skip more cat's cradle. Now I'm going to get out of your hair, let you two rest, and I'll swing by with the movies before my shift ends," he promised.
He got up and came over to turn off the camera. The Sun and Moon watched him, heads turning to exchange a silent look before the footage came to an end.
For a second it seemed like that was going to be everything on the tape, but then the footage abruptly cut back on.
The camera was aimed towards a monitor showing security footage. Marionette was the only one who could recognize the room it was taken in, the room where he had confronted Vanny. The camera was pushed closer and adjusted to line up with the picture on the screen. That picture was a feed of that same little padded room where the Sun could be laying on the floor on his back beside the Moon who sat on his heels, up and alert.
"Confirming now that they do sleep," a familiar voice spoke. It was the same technician from the earlier clip, as expected. "That's kind of cute. It might be a feature for naptime. I've only seen Sunnydrop sleeping… but I can't find anywhere where this is mentioned. And as far as I know, I'm the only one who's been working with them," he quietly explained. His voice was hushed, like this whole thing was secretive.
He then moved the camera to point it down on the desk and revealed three movies laid out on it. They were marked like they were rentals.
"I've got Out of Yesterday, Sunspot, and The Frost. Let's see how these go over," he finished. Then the scene abruptly ended.
That wasn't the last clip, but that was the most significant one. It sat with Mike through to the next one, lingering on the back of his mind as he watched the old Sun running a test with a shape sorter toys, which seemed like a relatively questionable test to run considering that the animatronics were already showing enough intelligence to speak. It was the same technician running the test, but the interactions were light.
It was after that clip that the tape finally came to an anticlimactic end. It just stopped after that, which seemed strange when the tape had plenty more space on it.
Maybe the testing came to an unexpected end, he considered. Or maybe it was just an unfinished and forgotten tape left behind once the daycare attendants were deemed ready to perform. He really couldn't be sure.
"What do you think?" Marionette unexpectedly asked. He had a pensive tone and a matching expression on his mask when Mike looked to him. Almost like he too noticed the abruptness of it.
"I think watching that gave me the same weird vibe as being in that room. You know, that general 'off' feeling. Like something's wrong but you don't know what it is," Mike said. "I don't know, maybe it's just me."
"No, I feel it too. Something doesn't sit right about this tape, but I'm not sure… Oh… Hmm…"
"What?" Mike asked. He watched as Marionette's looked at the screen thoughtfully, processing whatever he was thinking before looking back at him.
"I think I might know what it is… Could you please put it back on? Rewind it to the beginning. I want to watch through again," he said.
"Sure." He reached forward and began rewinding the video tape once more. "Going to cue me in?"
"Not yet. Not until I watch it again just in case I put my foot in my mouth," Marionette remarked.
"I've got to start doing that," Mike replied. "You wouldn't believe what I yelled at that rabbit chick."
"You said you were going to drop her like a bag of flour," Marionette said with an tickled smile.
"It was a bag of dirt, and my point exactly."
Though the seriousness returned once the video was playing through a second time. Marionette's eyes returned to the screen and he watched closely. Mike did too, looking at the finer details and trying to see what it was that the puppet had picked up. It could've been that Jake wasn't talking, but that didn't seem like enough of a clue. Moon was acting rather in-character for what they had seen as well, and it couldn't have been the room itself since Marionette hadn't a comparison.
"This is all very strange," Michael murmured. Mike looked back at him and his lidded eyes, perhaps resembling furrowing brows.
"What part of it?" Jeremy asked, beating him to it.
"Both of 'em," Foxy answered
"Not that. Though yes, I agree. They are rather strange. No, I mean a lone technician going into a padded cell to 'test' animatronic features. That's very strange." Michael rubbed at his chin before looking to Mike. "That's a very human test to perform on an animatronic."
Foxy gave an agreeing hum.
"From what you said about the lackadaisical programming and the adherence to the rules, I was under the impression that they treat all of their animatronics like robots. Even the ones who exhibit more personality are treated more as an asset than a person… So, why is it that they were testing these ones like humans? Or perhaps, more like animals, but certainly not like robots," Michael laid out. "There were no direct commands. Practically no monitoring equipment."
"Because they're not testing them. He is," Marionette said.
He still studied the video but now with a look bordering between suspicion and uncertainty. The second he said it, and as he continued to explain it, Mike looked to the screen and saw the signs as clear as day.
"He's recording them in secret. That's why he was whispering in the office, that's why he's always testing them alone. He's recording it himself which means there's likely nobody watching the cameras, because as we saw the feed is perfectly fine. There's no need for a handheld camera in there. There's no need for him to record security footage in secret if he's doing what Fazbear Entertainment told him to do."
"And the fact that he said he was looking into things he can't find answers on. That sounds like the sort of thing that Fazbear Entertainment might not be cool with," Charlie pointed out.
"That too," Marionette agreed.
"He could've gotten fired for this. Didn't they say something about losing a technician suddenly? Forget leaving unexpectedly, I bet they canned him, didn't want to say why, and this tape got thrown in with the training tapes. Just like they did with that one of Scott's accident," Jeremy pointed out.
"That sounds about right," Mike said dryly.
"…Or he got himself killed," Foxy lowly added.
Jeremy nearly guffawed at the statement. "You mean Moon, right? I don't think Moon's capable of killing anyone. He might look creepy but that's pretty much it."
"I second that," Charlie agreed.
"I don't just mean Moon. I mean if this guy got the wrong idea with these two then he might've gotten close to somethin' he shouldn't of," Foxy pointed out. There wasn't a shred of humor in his voice and that sobered Jeremy up quickly. "It's no different than a zookeeper thinkin' he's got the animals figured out 'til he walks into the wrong cage."
"That's what happened to Ben…" Michael volunteered quietly.
The way his apathy broke and let the grief bleed through the cracks was enough to disquiet a room. More than even the talk of death had done. Swimming in that feeling until Charlie offered up her two cents.
"So, here's the thing I don't get. He's acting friendly with them. He might be asking them to do these tests, but he's being nice about it. Even bribing them. But the way Sun's talked about technicians- Moon Sun, not Jake- it's like they've been mistreated by all of the technicians. It's weird neither mentioned him or even alluded to him at all," she pointed out.
"Perhaps he did a test they didn't like…" Michael volunteered.
That sent a shiver down Marionette's spine. One tangible enough that it caused him to shudder and for Mike to notice. He processed that idea a moment before slowly turning towards the chair.
"…Charlie, I hate to ask this and put you in this position, but… did Jake say anything about how he was damaged?" he asked, voicing his concerns.
She looked surprised at first. Then she got an unsettled frown as her eyes slid to the paused TV screen.
"No… He wouldn't," Charlie said. From her voice it was clear that she was now suspecting the same thing.
It was downright chilling if it was true. Perhaps Moon really could be capable of murder.
"…Eh, I'll ask Freddy. He'll know somethin'," Foxy volunteered.
"As far as we know, that is Freddy," Marionette cryptically suggested, gesturing a hand at the screen. Foxy gave a negative noise and shook his head.
"Nah, can't be. We'd know right off. This be someone else," he assured. Then he pushed off the back of the couch and wandered into the kitchen, briefly glancing inside of the fridge. Leaving a silent living room in his wake.
This time Mike decided to break that silence a little faster and stretched before getting up.
"Well, now that you're all good and riled up, I'm calling it a night," he said, offering a hand to Marionette to help him up as well.
Jeremy arched a brow in surprise. "That was sudden."
"It's almost five. Not sudden enough," Mike replied.
"You know you're going to need to get that kid out of there," Michael cut in. His voice regaining its general mix of seriousness and exhaustion.
That comment was even more sudden than his own. Almost enough to take him off guard, but it was hard to be surprised by Michael's trademark bluntness after living with it for a while.
"I know. We offered to take him tonight, but he wouldn't budge. Freddy's got toys and games and all the junk food he can eat; we can't compete with that," Mike said. His quippy tone barely hiding his weary concede.
"They also have a deranged woman in a rabbit suit who just might be one of our equally deranged father's followers. It might be time to get tough."
"Gregory's not the type of kid to respond well to 'tough'," Marionette sighed. "He may trust us more now, but I get the impression that the only reason we've gotten this close is out of desperation and our shared association to Freddy."
"Aye, and ya ain't wrong. He's a good kid, he just can't trust people. And it ain't like Freddy's trying to ply him with goodies. Freddy's a lil indulgent- at least compared to any father we've ever known- but he's making due with what he has. He's tryin' to keep him fed and safe without runnin' him off- and it paid off! Freddy's prob'ly the only one who Gregory'll listen to," Foxy explained.
"Sunny's helping too. He gave him a lunchbox full of food that wasn't junk," Jeremy added. "…But he and Gregory butt heads a little."
"Least it's somethin'… We're figurin' this out, Michael. We're not letting this slide," Foxy swore. Michael nodded, trusting that tone.
"Can we put it back on cable now?" Max asked from the dark corner of the living.
"What's the magic word?"
"Now, damn it. NOW."
Michael rolled his eyes into his suit and turned it back over to television.
Meanwhile, Foxy pulled back from the fridge and turned away to pace around the kitchen. It was going to be a hard day tomorrow because he was feeling wired tonight and hadn't gotten in nearly enough running to burn it off. He set a glance to the blind covered kitchen window and wondered if he was disguised enough to run around the block, then inwardly scoffed at the idea. Instead leaning on the table and pulling down the blinds with his hook to peek.
"Hope Freddy's holding up..."
Freddy was holding up as well as could be expected considering that Gregory just walked out into the unknown. While he wanted to take some relief in knowing that Gregory would be coming back in through the front, he couldn't. If anything, tonight had enforced that the Pizzaplex wasn't nearly as safe as it was during operating hours. Really, the only relief he could take was that they were opening in only a few hours.
Freddy waited by the Loading Dock door for a while after Gregory left, just in case he changed his mind. Which he didn't. In fact, by time Freddy finally turned to leave the door he was probably already back in the Pizzaplex.
It took all of his self-control to not run up there and go get him, but he gave him his distance. He didn't understand why Gregory was sneaking back in, likely because he would think Freddy would make him leave. Nothing was further from the truth. Freddy wasn't required to contact parents unless he knew who those parents were, which was exactly why he didn't ask about them. He knew Gregory was coming here to escape something, he wouldn't make him leave.
Though this rabbit woman situation was beginning to scare him. It seemed too close to the rumors about the old Freddy's. Rumors that, with what Foxy and Marionette had said, were sounding a bit more realistic. He hated having to do it, but he was going to have to ask Foxy directly the next time he came. He needed to know the truth about what happened, and how a human could become an animatronic.
Had he been a human?
Freddy stopped outside the kitchen door and stared at it silently. He didn't remember being human, he didn't suppose that he felt human with the occasional error pop-ups and the need to recharge his battery, but it was worth wondering about. Perhaps that was why Foxy did not need to charge. It was all very confusing, and Freddy didn't really have anyone to talk to about it. Nobody who was both here and awake, at least.
He wasn't here anymore.
With a sigh, Freddy pushed through the kitchen doors and started to head back towards the elevator. His eyes tracing the tiles on the floor as he dragged himself along.
He was interrupted by a jingle and looked up from the floor just in time to see a familiar form dropping to the floor from the upper walkway. It was Moon. He landed gracefully before rising to his feet and beginning to slink over.
"Gooood evening, Papa Bear…"
"Moon!" Freddy was shocked to see him down here after everything that had happened today. He watched as Moon made his way around the corner of the kitchen equipment and stalked up to him.
"Sooo far away from your green room, hmm? What could you be doing down here so earrrrly in the morning?" the jester drew out. His body clicking and clinking and jingling as he crept closer.
"I could ask the same thing. How are you feeling?"
"…Exhausted." Moon dropped his head to the side and hung it in a somewhat uncanny way. One that Freddy didn't even bat an eye at. He lifted his head back up slowly, face turning to stay level as he did. "Where is your goblin-child?"
"…He has already left," Freddy confessed. His ears and eyes lowering as he confessed such. Though he pulled himself back together quickly, not wanting Moon to see him sulking. "Speaking of which, I would like to thank you for taking care of Gregory while I was indisposed."
"There is no need."
"I insist!... And I must apologize on behalf of Monty. I am sure he did not mean to hurt you."
"Oh, I am sure he is verrrry sorry," Moon growled under his breath. Freddy's shifted uncomfortably and looked aside guiltily. "Tch. Don't apologize for him. He fought dirty because he knew, oh he knew, that I had him."
"I am sure you did but perhaps- and I mean this in the best way, of course- perhaps you could… not have him?" Freddy tentatively suggested. "I know you were protecting Gregory, but I do not like the idea of two of my dear friends fighting."
Moon made another disapproving 'tch'.
"…Especially when it risks you going back into Parts and Service," Freddy continued. He made eye contact with the jester and his voice grew even more solemn. "You cannot return to Parts and Service. It is out of the question."
"That ship has sailed, hasn't it? Mmm, very well. Next time I will simply have to take Monty out before he does something stupid- like trying to cross me," Moon suggested. Freddy wasn't exactly pleased by the implication, but he chose to believe that the Daycare Attendant was putting on airs. Moon noticed, shifting his weight onto one leg, and propping his head on a hand. "…Sun is soft on him."
"Gregory?" Freddy said in surprise.
"No, Monty. He sees such an unchecked temper and swoons," Moon said. Clasping his hands in mock adoration and spinning his face with the last word, only to quickly spin it back. "Hmm… On second thought, that doesn't sound right."
This roused a chuckle out of Freddy.
"I am just surprised that Sun would admit to it. He was so resistant earlier," he said. His eyelids lowering with a warm smile. "Remind me to thank him for making sure Gregory was well fed."
"I will pass on the message," Moon agreed. "But there still is a problem, Freddy. Do you know what it is?" He leaned in closer, clicking and rattling in anticipation. "You're not where you're supposed to be."
"I am heading back upstairs now… Unless there is somewhere else you want me to be?"
"Always such a fast learner, yesss." Moon shuddered with a low giggle, one that filled Freddy with equal trepidation and fondness. "I have had such a loooong night, Freddy Bear. Such a long, long night filled with so many unruly people. And though it is not your fault- no, no- would you make it up to me?"
"I would be happy to! Anything that you need I am here to provide," Freddy agreed.
"Good, good…" Moon beckoned him with a crooked finger. "Come with me."
…
There was something so soothing about the daycare at naptime. Though Freddy assumed that was on purpose.
Still, there was a comfort in the room that wasn't found anywhere else in the Pizzaplex. The lights turned low and the illuminated stars on the wall only bright enough to glow and still leaving most of the room in a tranquil deep blue. Just like staring off into a starry night sky even though the neon shapes were a far cry from actual celestial bodies.
The room was slightly cooled by the air conditioning units. Not enough to feel cold but just enough to make the plush floor beneath him feel warm. He could imagine laying out on it under one of those small, soft blankets that were passed out to the children. It would have to be so comfy and cozy. He couldn't imagine anyone not enjoying it- even though he knew why rambunctious children were so reluctant to settle down and sleep.
It had been a long time since he had felt so comfortable. His head resting on a cushion that was held up underneath it by his bent arm, putting cushioning between him and the limb. The soft weight of a second pillow resting on his lower chest, puffy warmth stretched out over his legs- it was better than a blanket. Even if they had a blanket his size, this was much more fitting.
Freddy wished that he could sleep. He just wasn't certain how, especially when he was toting a fully charged battery. But it was fine; he was more than comfortable laying here and letting his mind wander. Because his thoughts weren't nearly as abrasive while laid out on the floor of the daycare, staring at the fake neon stars like they hung in a vast sky. These thoughts were fleeting and airy, like dreams. He couldn't remember sleeping, but he could vaguely remember dreaming.
He trailed his hand up the non-existent seam on Moon's back and gently traced his fingers along his hoop.
Moon hummed a little into the pillow he was lying face down on and pressed into it further, pressing it further against Freddy's chest, his long fingers hooking around one shoulder and his other arm slid further around his waist.
He was totally submerged in sleep mode, Freddy could tell. If not from his lack of a glow, then from how relaxed he was. It filled Freddy with a warmth somewhat like the pillow and the puffy pants shifting along his legs. It also took off the foreboding pressure that had started weighing him down after he found out the truth about the update. At least some of it, at least for a little while.
A perfectly comfortable silence only interrupted when Moon would slightly shift, or their feet would bump, and one of his many bells would jingle. Freddy couldn't help but smile when they did. Such a delightful little noise.
It was all so nice. Freddy felt great… but in the back of his mind he couldn't suppress all of the worries.
He worried about Gregory first of all, being alone in the Pizzaplex somewhere. He worried about his bandmates, feeling guilty that he hadn't approached them with more offerings to help. That he had been skipping out on the practices when he was supposed to be leading the band and making sure they did them. He worried about Foxy putting himself in danger coming by and what consequences there would be if he was caught. Especially and including with his friends.
But perhaps most of all he worried about Sun and Moon. It weighed him down considerably, possibly because he was literally weighing on his chest.
He had always known that they were to receive updates to iron any issues with their behavior and he knew that Sunny distrusted the human employees, but he had never realized the full extent of what they were doing or why he had been so scared. Freddy had naively believed that they just wanted to help Sunny function better, but this was a step beyond that. An automatic shutdown, confining him to the daycare, and that added with the condition of his living space…
It was almost like the staff actively disliked Sunny and Moon. Like they were doing this on purpose. It sounded insane but Freddy couldn't understand such measures elsewise. He felt like he had to do something, but what? What could he do?
Perhaps he needed to get Sunny out of the daycare. Get him to meet more of their guests until he was as beloved as the Glamrocks themselves. Sure, it would take him away from his duties, but little children were unhelpful in this situation. Their voices weren't enough to speak up for Sunny, and many of them got spooked by him just from his face alone. Nobody was going to speak up for Moondrop.
Freddy reached up to the hand on his shoulder and gently pulled it free before lacing his fingers with it. Moon's hand pressed back, and his fingers coiled around Freddy's in his sleep. Freddy sighed, that comfort easing up his worries once more.
They would figure it out. Now that Freddy knew he could do something about it. He just had to figure out what.
He had to stay strong, and with a few nights like this maybe he could.
Natalie wasn't confident that this was going to work. She had seen the state of the security equipment when the rabbit was running around. Not only did she doubt it was picking anything up, she was certain that was the point. That she either tampered with the security system or had something on her that twisted up the footage, just like Marionette did.
But she still had to try. Because the longer Natalie thought about it the more she realized that she needed the safety net that the evidence provided. Not even the evidence that Vanny was real, but the evidence that she was in uniform patrolling the upper floors while Vanny was skipping around threatening people.
Because while her main priority was to keep people from getting hurt, Natalie wasn't about to take the fall for Vanny. Even if that was what the rabbit was setting up for.
She got surprisingly far into the Pizzaplex before anyone approached her about it. In fact, she was heading through the door leading up to the main security room when a man hustled up to her with something of a, "Excuse me, Ma'am. Hold on." He was wearing a basic floor staff uniform, but she had no idea what he did. Considering that he was hanging out in Rockstar Row, chatting up groups that headed through, he was probably some sort of tour guide.
Rockstar Row was a little busy today. The only one of the Glamrock band who was in their rooms was Roxanne Wolf, and she had her curtains wide open so they could watch as she fluffed her hair in the vanity. Putting on a show of it.
It didn't take more than a flash of her keycard to get her effectively off the hook. The man apologized awkwardly and returned to whatever he was doing while she headed up into the main security office, nervously wondering who she would find up there and how she would sort through the security footage in front of them.
It was a huge office. Security camera screens were mounted on desks and in the walls, including all over the island wall that cut through the center of the room. Large screens depicted various camera angles of the front door, of the door to the parking garage, to attractions like Monty Golf and Fazer Blast, and spied in on plenty of children. There were also walls of windows, one facing backstage and the other out into the atrium.
A huge room with dozens of screens spying on hundreds of people.
And one guy reading a magazine.
He looked up suddenly.
"Oh hey, you can't be back here," he nonchalantly said.
"Oh hey, yes I can," Natalie disagreed. She still had her keycard out and showed it to him.
He took it and glanced it over before smiling and standing up.
"It's about time!" he said and offered his hand. She furrowed her brow. "That we met. I'm halfa the dayshift."
"Oh! Right, sorry," Natalie shook his hand. "I'm Vanessa."
"Tommy."
Tommy was rather standard looking all things considered. He looked around her age, maybe a touch older, a little on the short side and with fluffy dark hair sticking out underneath his security cap. The only thing that really stood out about him was his Brooklyn accent.
"I'm shocked there even is a dayshift with how reluctant Wight was to hire a nightguard," Natalie half-asked.
"People keep lifting stuff outta the giftshops. Safety? Nah, no big deal. About fifty dollars wortha Freddy Fazbear junk? We're hiring on a new workforce," Tommy joked. "Abe's hanging out over in Glamrock Gifts. He's a temp but he might stick around… Sorry to talk your ear off. I've been sitting in here all day watching people walk back and forth on TVs- gets a little lonely. Anywho, didya need something or you just passing through?"
"Actually, I came to look at last night's security footage. I think there was a scuffle between Monty and Moon, and I want to double check," she explained.
Though Natalie wondered if this was going to be a problem with Tommy in here. If he was going to try and look over her shoulder, she was going to have to cut this short and come back later.
"Sure thing. Over here," Tommy said.
He stood up and led her to the other side of the room, around the wall of electronics and into the opposite corner. All the while still talking.
"I dunno how ya do it. Some of these bots got something real screwy going on up there," he said while tapping his temple. He then pointed to one of the random screens in the corner. "That's the one you can watch the playback on. You press the ehhh. Here, let me try."
"I can handle it."
"Lemme just…" Tommy leaned over the desk while clicking his tongue. He moved the mouse into the corner, clicked to pull up a menu, and then clicked again to make a login screen pop up. "Here ya go! You just put your stuff in and you should be good to go."
She noticed the emphasis on 'should' but stopped herself from asking once he turned to walk back to his chair. Not wanting to risk unintentionally inviting him to stick around. She just thanked him, pulled over another chair, and put in her login information. The screen loaded for a long moment before popping up on an error screen, which surprised her. She could've expected an invalid login, but not an "Error please try again later" screen.
She backed out and tried a second time only to have the same result. Then she reluctantly required Tommy's help. She pushed back and turned the chair to call over to him, "I'm getting some sort of error screen."
Tommy came back over and looked at the screen. Then he backed out and tried to log in with his own credentials. He didn't get her error, but he didn't get any farther either.
"Insufficient Security Clearance."
"Oh, that's real nice," Tommy grumbled. "Nothing like that to show you what the big boys really think of ya. Here, try again. Might be working now."
Natalie did but once again she was rewarded with an error screen. She gave an impatient huff.
"Ain't that screwy…" Tommy said. Pulling off his cap to scratch his head before replacing it. "Eh, we can send a message down to the technicians, but don't expect any sorta fix anytime soon. I bet they're still up to their elbows in bots since that accident up on stage."
"Accident?" Natalie asked in confusion. "Don't tell me. Freddy went down again?"
"Nah, it wasn't him. Much worse, lemme tell ya," Tommy declined. He raised his hands as though framing a picture or framing the shot of his story. "So, there I was!... Sitting right over there. When all of a sudden, I hear this-."
…
Gregory didn't like the looks people were giving him today. Mostly nosey parents who scrunched up their faces and talked amongst themselves. It got to the point that he decided to spend most of the time in Kids Cove, tucked inside the bow of the pirate ship. The sound of little kids running around the ship sounding like it was miles away. At least he had gotten some snacks from Freddy last night, so he didn't have a dire need to scrounge today.
He only eventually dragged himself when the first show of the day was going to begin. A lunchtime noontime show where families were encouraged to grab a bite to eat in the atrium while watching the band rock out on stage. There wasn't such a big crowd gathered in front of the stage, but many of the tables were filled up- specifically by people who hadn't filled out an order for the table and simply hadn't been called out by the few members of human staff.
It was usually worth dealing with the crowd to watch Freddy perform. Sure, the songs were cheesy, but they were starting to grow on Gregory. Or maybe he just found it cool to watch Freddy do his thing.
Or it would've been, except they had a different plan for today. Instead of the usual setup where Freddy was the main singer with the other bandmates occasionally chiming in, none other than Chica herself was suddenly playing a headlining role alongside Freddy. She still played her guitar but was now performing a duet with him, singing a song that Gregory didn't recognize. A techno pop number about coolness. At least, they said that a lot.
It was far from cool, Gregory thought as he watched the stage with distaste. Chica was the last person he wanted to see. Seeing her bounce around with that cheekiness on her voice was just annoying. She was just annoying.
Yet as sour as Gregory was towards Chica, he never anticipated what was coming. In fact, he was expecting this to go off without a hitch and everyone would clap, and the show would go on. Hopefully with Freddy back in the lead. They neared that point as they built up towards that final note. That note that Freddy usually bellowed out but was now turning over to Chica, going so far as to lean his mic stand out for her.
She leaned back to reach it, striking one hard note on her guitar as she opened up her beak and let loose.
It was like straight metal to the ears. The sharpest most grating shriek of a noise Gregory had ever heard. So shocking and loud that his hands reflexively flew to his ears with a short cry. "Gah!"
Freddy was shaken by it too. He shuddered as though in pain and dropped the mic stand, then looked up at Chica in surprise. She stared back wide-eyed before her beak clamped closed.
Then then first wail began. Both animatronics looked out towards the crowd and listened as the younger children in the audience began to cry. Though those weren't the only audible complaints that could be heard now with the music's abrupt halt. The only thing left being the slight picking of Monty's bass. Freddy looked back to see the gator looking over the top of his sunglasses with an utterly floored look.
The audience weren't the only one's feeling the effects either. Noticing a clattering noise, Gregory looked back to see a Staff Bot that had dropped a platter of food and was currently trembling in place, malfunctioning. It wasn't the only one either. Gregory could see at least one of the ones at the counter twitching in place in front of an already impatient looking line of people waiting to order their lunch. It looked like they would be waiting a while later.
It was as though the Pizzaplex stopped, and Gregory could only watch the chaos unfold. It was very different to when Freddy collapsed on stage, people seemed a lot more irritated. He didn't blame them; his ears were still ringing.
Eventually some guys in uniform jumpsuits came up on stage. Gregory could only guess that they were those technicians he had heard about. One scruffy guy pointed at Chica and then swiftly pointed a thump behind him. Gregory could imagine a harsh, "Get off the stage!" even though that was likely not what he said.
Chica still seemed surprised though from how swiftly she stood upright. Freddy stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder and holding the other up at the men. He seemed to be trying to defend her, but the man cut him off with something. A sudden hand gesture and a sharp point. Must've said something smart, Gregory supposed, as Roxanne suddenly stepped in and pointed right back. Growling something intimidating enough that a different technician raised his hands in defense.
Gregory started to get closer and could hear the first technician's voice a little better over the drone of the nearby crowd. He heard something along the lines of, "I'm not going to tell you again," and a very harsh, "NOW," to punctuate it.
Chica thrusted her arms down in frustration and followed the technicians off the stage right afterwards. Freddy started to follow before another one of the technicians pointed for him to go back. Though this guy was much less harsh about it. Freddy seemed reluctant as he returned back to the front of the stage and picked the microphone back up. Roxanne glaring after the group with a twitchy leg and Monty staring blankly off at the unsettled crowd.
Gregory knew he should've felt back for Chica. Especially since she was Freddy's friend and her messing up messed up his whole show. He didn't feel bad at all. In fact, he was glad she made a big scene and had to be led off.
After all- he ghosted his fingers over the large bruise stretching down his arm- she was the reason he was suddenly the center of attention. She got what she deserved.
...
"-And half the Staff Bots had to be hauled downstairs and none of 'em came back up yet. And because they're all set up on some kinda grid, they can't send ones over from somewhere else. It's real bad."
"Yikes," Natalie sympathized. "Glad I missed that… But what am I supposed to do now?"
"You want my advice? Get out while you still can. I hear they've been calling in employees to come run the stuff in the Atrium. Don't let 'em figure out you're here or ya might be on fry duty down at the snack bar," Tommy warned.
"Yeah, that's the last thing I want…" Natalie considered her options before standing with a sigh. "Maybe I'll call Wight later and see if he has another way to get that footage."
"Good luck with that. And hey, drop in sometime! Gives me somethin' to look forward to."
They shook hands, said their goodbyes, and soon Natalie was back out into the Pizzaplex. She decided to take the other security guard's advice and instead of getting caught lingering there she made her way out. She stopped by Glamrock Gifts on the way out and glanced in. There was no sign of Ness, with her post tended to by a Staff Bot attendant. A lanky redhead with a security guard cap sat on a plastic chair nearby. She waved and he returned it, though looked a little confused.
Soon Natalie was hiking out into the parking lot and heading towards the employee's section where the car waited. She opened up the passenger door and climbed in.
"Sorry, Hun. I didn't mean to take that long, but I ran into the daytime security guard and got roped into a long story about the latest major malfunction on stage."
"No problem," Fritz assured. He leaned over to kiss her; a pick-me-up since he could already tell she hadn't gotten what she needed from her tone. He then started up the car and backed out of the space. "Freddy again?"
"Worse. Chica. Something about her new voice box being too screechy and scaring a bunch of kids… and possibly putting twenty Staff Bots down in Parts and Service," Natalie said. She sighed again. "I didn't get it, by the way. Every time I tried to log in there was an error and he didn't have high enough clearance."
Fritz hummed at first but then noticed what she said. "High enough clearance? Wasn't he the security guard?"
"Yup. Maybe it's because he was just hired on? He called the other guy a temp, so it's a possibility," Natalie offered. Fritz nodded in agreeing. "I'll try to call Wight a little later. He said they're asking employees to come and fill in, so I'll wait until a little closer to my shift."
"Good idea. I wouldn't get my hopes up though. Wight doesn't strike me as the most hands-on guy with his business."
"No. He's more the choose the menu based off of focus groups and the color scheme off of whatever's chic enough," Natalie joked. Fritz grinned at that, and she returned it as she stretched on the seat. "So, what now? Should I call Mike?"
"Sure, if you don't mind."
Natalie got out her cell phone and dialed Mike'. Fritz sat quietly in the driver's side and listened as she recited the story to him.
"Yeah, I know… Sure. I'll probably do it around four or five and I'll call you back. Just try to take it easy… Alright, bye," she finished. She ended the call with a sympathetic hiss. "He sounded tired."
"I've noticed. I think these nightly escapades are starting to burn him out-."
They were interrupted by the phone ringing. Natalie arched a delicate brow and answered the call.
"Hello?" she asked. After a second she mouthed "Mike" to Fritz, tipping off who it was before continuing to listen. Then she furrowed her brows. "I mean, we can, but I don't know how much help he's going to be. I had clearance, there was just some kind of error that kept popping up," she said. There was a few moments of a response. "…Good point. I guess it won't hurt to try… Okay, we'll meet you there. We're just leaving the parking lot now so don't rush. Okay, bye."
She ended the call and looked back to Fritz. "Change of plans. Looks like we're heading to Scott's."
Fritz shared her quirked brow, and she gave a half shrug and smile. They set their doubts aside and set their destination to Scott's.