Mable: Enjoy!
Going Home in a Box
Chapter Seventy-Seven
It wasn't easy to read Jake's expressions.
Now, it wasn't the first time Jeremy had been around an animatronic with no way of emoting facially. In those cases, body language was what you had to go on. Some animatronics purposefully exaggerating their motions to get their points across. Jake was a little more subtle, a little more relaxed, so Jeremy hadn't initially picked up on him being lost in thought until Marionette made it clear.
Since it was just the two of them walking back to the daycare, Jeremy had to go off his own feelings, and he felt like Jake was feeling pretty good. He didn't detect a hint of nervousness as they quietly chatted on the way to the daycare. It was so much like chatting with just another worker.
Then they stepped through the daycare security door and somehow, Jeremy just felt the nervousness pouring off Jake. He didn't notice anything distinct to note, except maybe his silence, but he could just feel it.
They headed through the gate and started down the walkway towards the stairs. Jeremy looked down into the daycare and brightened up as he spotted Button and Bow sitting on the soft mats by the check-out desk. It looked like they were working on a puzzle- or fussing on where to put pieces from how their hands were moving.
He didn't go unnoticed though as he caught sight of Daisy suddenly prancing into view, stooping on pointe and waving up to him with both arms. He knew it was her just from how she moved.
"Looks like we've been spotted," Jeremy said. He waved back at her with a smile and Jake looked over as well. "Hey! We're back!"
Button and Bow looked up and Max turned his head to look over.
And suddenly Sun leapt out of the nearest play structure and onto the netting right in front of them. His fingers tight in the loops, his points jittering and head twitching.
Jeremy didn't need any extra cues to know that Sun was upset.
"Heeey," Jake greeted with a stiff wave of his own. "We'll be right down, uh…" He began to softly nudge Jeremy in the back muttering, "Go, go," under his breath.
"Not so fast!" Sun hissed. His voice melding into Moon's as he did.
Jake could only watch as he clamored up the netting to the top and then jumped down from it onto the railing, and then hopping down from it onto the floor.
"Or we could just talk here. How's it going?" Jake awkwardly asked. Yanking his hand from Jeremy's back to rub his own neck.
"Don't you dare "Oh, hey! How's it going, Buddy?" me! Where have you been?!" Sunny scolded. He planted his hands on his hips and tapped his foot.
"I went with Mari and Jerry to go see Bee and hang out."
"Oh, and you didn't think of, I don't know, TELLING ME?"
"Well… Yeah, but I… Yeah, that was a bad call," Jake quietly agreed.
"Maybe. Just maybe it was. I was worried sick! And I couldn't LE-EAVE because I had kids in the daycare!" Sun vented. "I'm down here fighting a losing battle and I've gotta worry about you getting shredded by Monty out in Pizza Land!"
"…First off, what?" Jake asked.
Sun was now outright shaking with pent up frustration.
But that one comment he made hadn't flown over Jeremy's head. He winced at it.
"They didn't give you a hard time did they?" he dared to ask.
"What?! Oh- wait, no. No, no, no! They were perfect little angels!" Sunny clasped his hands together and rested them on his cheek, almost identically to how Moon did in his candy posters. "…And then Satan showed up."
Jeremy knew that Balloon Boy was Satan.
"…Yeah, he does that sometimes," Jeremy sighed defeatedly.
"So, thanks for the warning… Mari?" Sunny looked around with his hands still poised, then dropped them onto his hips. "Now, where did he run off to?"
"He's just taking a breather out in the atrium. No biggie," Jake assured. He then turned to assure Jeremy. "He deals with this all the time. Kids acting up. He's just a little-."
"ANGRY. YEAH, I THINK HE NOTICED," Sunny interjected.
Jake sighed and slowly turned back to him.
"I know I messed up. I left without telling you where I was going and that scared you, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, but leaving… I know it was taking a risk, but-."
"A huge risk," Sunny muttered.
"But I had to get out of that room for a while." Jake lowered his voice. "It's suffocating me. I had to take the chance; this might be my only night to do it. I just… I HAD to."
All at once, all the heat deflated out of the Daycare Attendant and his arms slouched at his sides.
Jake also slouched as well.
The three stood there silently for a good ten seconds.
Then, as much as Jeremy didn't want to, he broke the silence.
"Sorry, but I've got to… I've really got to get going. We've only got a couple of hours left until daytime," he carefully explained.
"OH! Oh riiight, the pick-up! Mm-hmm. Do you have your pick-up pass?" Sunny chirped. His tune changing immediately. Still ticking loudly and a little twitchy but trying his hardest to cover it up.
Jeremy started to reach for his wallet to grab it when Sunny put up his hand.
"Save it! This one's on me," he chirped. He gave an arm sweeping wave, "Follow me!" and turned on his heel. He very quickly regarded Jake with a flat, "We'll talk about this later," and then began to march off towards the stairs.
Jake looked to Jeremy, and he gave a lopsided and sympathetic smile then quickly followed as to not get on Sun's bad side.
In the meantime, Max and Balloon Boy were catching wind of the scene down in the daycare. Well, technically all of them could hear the exchange, but they were paying close attention.
"Did you catch that hissy fit up there?"
"What am I, deaf? Ha ha ha, you ought to be proud! You know you stirred that fire."
Balloon Boy was looking at him intensely. Max knew what he wanted.
"You're really going to make me do it, aren't you?"
Balloon Boy laughed cheekily.
"You better be keeping count of all these favors," Max swore.
He then fell silent as Sunny scaled the beside the door, squeezed through the netting, and dropped into the play area.
"Ooookay, my little Munchkins! Your Papa's here to pick you up!" he announced.
The little ones started to hurry towards the door. Forget-Me-Not eyed Max and Balloon Boy as she passed by, obviously catching on but deciding not to rat them out. Instead giving them a warning stare for whatever they were plotting.
Though Max had no plans of giving Jeremy any headaches. He really needed a break. No, this was going to be much quieter. He spotted Sunny scooping up Plushtrap and called for him.
"Hey, Sun Man. Think you could do me a favor?"
Balloon Boy had moved out of view by time Sunny slowly looked over. The Daycare Attendant's frozen smile held a wary sluggishness to it. Perhaps he was giving him the same warning Forget-Me-Not had.
"Yesssss?" Sun asked. He sounded suspicious.
"Could you tote me outside? I don't want Jeremy to have to do it."
"Oh. Oh! Certainly! One moment, please!"
Sunny skipped back to Jeremy, who was kneeling greeting his excitable pack, and handed off Plushtrap. Then he pushed the laundry cart through the door- which Jake was holding open- as it was easier to get it over the bump while it was empty. He then skipped right back to Max.
"Here we go! All aboard the- wait, where can I touch you?"
"Wherever doesn't get me dropped."
"Thank you. All aboard the Sunny Train!"
Sunny scooped Max up from under the arms before immediately falling forward and partially dropping him again, not expecting that amount of weight. It was nothing though and he just readjusted his grip and hoisted him up before carrying him towards the door.
He felt funny. Max's body had this weird feeling- like a magnet effect but without the pull. Tingling along his hands and up his arms.
All of a sudden, he was reminded of the old Freddy's. The one he used to go to as a kid. He could remember it like it had just happened- remembering the pizza slinging incident, the other children, the animatronics, that time Spring Bonnie kept stumbling all over the place and almost fell off stage, that time some employee tried to lecture him about acting out, that time the power went out and everybody really freaked out-.
He couldn't stop thinking about them. Like something was squirming through his head remembering stuff he had forgotten ages ago. It almost made him feel floaty, like he did before he had switched bodies. When Bunny-.
Suddenly realizing that something was very wrong, Sunny dropped Max with a start and recoiled his hands. He took a wary step back.
"What was that?" he asked uneasily.
"Oh, sorry! I should've warned you, ha ha ha. I've got these scary psychic powers and sometimes they just drift. No worries, no worries. It's not like you're asleep or anything."
As smoothly as Max brushed it off, Sunny felt exceptionally more wary. He started to slowly reach down again.
"I've got him!" Jeremy volunteered.
Since Sunny had made it to the door, he heard the exchange and was able to lean in and hoist Max up before putting him into the laundry cart.
"Not to be difficult, Jere, but how are you going to get this cart up those stairs with me in it?" Max asked.
"…Good point."
Jeremy promptly pulled him right back out of the cart and set him on the floor.
Sunny watched the scene uneasily, rubbing at his arms awkwardly. When suddenly Balloon Boy came scuttling past him, causing him to jump and hike his leg up in surprise. Though that surprise quickly turned.
"Ngh…" His eye lights narrowed before he turned and headed inside. "I'll be right back."
"Sure," Jake agreed. He knew that tone and he was standing clear of it.
"So, Mari's not back yet. I can probably move the cart myself. Then I can carry Max up and whoever can hold on," Jeremy brainstormed.
"Why don't you just take the elevator?" Jake asked.
Jeremy's head whipped to him. "There's an elevator?"
Jake pointed to it and Jeremy stared for a long moment.
"I really wish I would've noticed that when we came in," he murmured. He then leaned down to pick Max up again. "Well, back in the cart!"
"Not so fa-ast~!" Sunny chirped as he came back through the doorway. He had something hidden behind his back. He waltzed up to the little ones and bent over to address them. "Since you've all been such wonderful little Sunflowers, you deserve an extra special treat!"
"Is it more candy?" Button asked.
"Nope! Even better!" He whipped his hands out, revealing two sheets. "STICKERS!"
Plushtrap was chattering in excitement as Sunny crouch to his level.
"Which one do you want, little buddy?" he asked.
Plushtrap pointed to a Monty sticker and Sun piped out the square holding it and handed it over. Then he started to do it for the others, making sure to get each one before popping up and unexpectedly showing off the remaining stickers to Jeremy.
"Now you! For taking care of my little runaway," Sunny said. There was an edge of concern or upset on his voice, but he covered it well.
"I'll take… Freddy."
"Ooh, good choice!" Sunny chirped. He pipped it out and handed it over. "Would you- umm- Max- would you like one…?"
"Sure. I'll stick it on the remote. Give me whatever."
"Hmm… Here! You can- You can have a Freddy too! He's, heh, very photogenic."
Sunny held out the sticker by the tips of his fingers, afraid to directly touch Max after earlier. Eventually the magician realized that Sunny was not going to cave and was forced to take it. The whole motion stiff and reluctant.
Then Sunny slowly turned towards Balloon Boy. His ever-present smile looking a little less welcoming as he towered over him.
"I've got a sticker for you too!"
Balloon Boy gasped in an exaggerated and mocking way.
"That's riiight. All for you," Sunny replied. He leaned over with his hands on his knees. "A reward for that little game you played with me, hmm? Yup, yup! And here you go…"
Sunny peeled a sticker off a smaller slip that he had hidden until now and promptly stuck the sticker smack to Balloon Boy's forehead.
It was a red no entry symbol.
"BANNED! You are BANNED! Out! Vamoose! Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars!"
"Aww, BB, what did you do?" Jeremy asked. At his side Daisy put her hands on her hips discouragingly and Plushtrap stared mouth agape.
"I had too much fun," Balloon Boy said.
"Way to go," Max chimed in.
"Sunny, I'm so sorry-," Jeremy tried to apologize.
"No, no. Don't be sorry! It's not your fault," Sunny said cheerily. He then snapped his head back to Balloon Boy with a growl. "It's HIS fault."
Balloon Boy laughed.
Jeremy dropped his head into his hand.
"BUT him aside, I would love, love to have your little dollies drop in any time! Just give me a ring and a head's up if you ever need a babysitter!"
"Thanks, Sunny. I really owe you."
"They're not exactly babies. Most of these fellas are older than you are," Max chimed in again.
"But that's a long story and we've got to get out of here," Jeremy interrupted. The last thing he needed was another argument coaxing someone else in here. "Thank you again, Sunny. Jake, we had a great time. Hope to see you again. Hope you two have a good night. Come on, girls- guys, we're leaving. Let's go," he rushed out.
"Bye-bye!" Sunny waved at the little ones.
"Goodbye Sundrop." "Goodbye Sunshine."
Button and Bow said at the same time. They looked to each other.
"No, no. His name is Sundrop, like the candy," Button whispered.
"No, he said the candy was named after him," Bow whispered back.
Jeremy scooped both up and put them into the laundry cart as they continued to go back and forth on which was the more appropriate name.
There was really only one right answer.
"See you around!" Max called after him. "Andrew."
Sunny froze in place and stared at the short magician. Psychic powers, he said. Had he seen- he had definitely seen- he knew exactly who he-.
"S-Same to you, Buddy!" Sunny shouted, flustered, and stepped back through the doorway and yanked the door shut behind him. Leaving Jake standing there with his hand still up and no door in it.
Sunny and Jake weren't the only ones who were surprised by the scene.
"That was Andrew?" Balloon Boy asked. His voice deflated to something much meeker. Both child and adult voices quiet. "…Do you mean the kid with the curly black hair? He used to wear a crocodile mask?"
"Yeah, that's him. Lines up with Foxy's pizza story too," Max said. "Oh, you haven't heard that one? Let me fill you in."
"Guys, I asked you to be on your best behavior," Jeremy said with exasperation. He gestured down at the little ones circling his feet and climbing his legs. "These guys got it. What happened?"
"I kind of got my lines crossed. I thought he was one of those jerks who use to hang out around Gabe," Max admitted.
"Well- okay, I get that, but Sun's been having a hard time just working here. He doesn't need any more trouble. Especially not for stuff he might've done ages ago. Kids and teens do stuff they regret. Trust me, I know from experience."
"You've got a point there… Okay, Jere. You win. You've got me feeling a little bad for that sunny sucker. I mean, he was a real pain, but he was just some little punk with an attitude problem. No different than us. Isn't that right, Beebs?"
Balloon Boy was weirdly silent.
"He agrees."
"Then let's get out of Sunny's hair before something a whole lot scarier shows up," Jeremy offered.
"Who, the clown?" Max asked.
"Worse. The morning crew coming to open the place."
Max couldn't really argue with that.
Jeremy got them loaded up, including the still eerily silent Balloon Boy, said goodbye to Jake, and pushed them into the elevator. Jake waved them off before turning his attention to the wooden doors.
Sunny dropped onto his backside on the other side of the door. His arms crossed tight and his legs stretched out in front of him. To think that little weirdo had seen all of that- "Ugh." He shuddered at the thought.
There was a knock on the heavy door. Sun dropped his head back against it.
"Whaaaaat?" he groaned.
"You locked me out," Jake called back.
"Oh, NOW you want in."
"Sunny…"
Sunny reluctantly dragged himself up and pressed the button before pushing open the door, letting Jake into the daycare. Things were still tense, and both could tell.
"What was that?" Jake asked.
Sunny instantly cracked.
"I don't know! He got inside my head when I was carrying him out!" he vented. Grabbing his points with exasperation and frustration. "And now I gotta spend all night wondering who he was- UGH!"
He wandered over to the pillowed area, where the Bidybabs had been doing their picture, and dropped to the floor. Turning himself as he did to land on his back on one, draped back over the curve with an arm over his eyes in an overdramatic display of exhaustion. Though considering the night he had it probably felt appropriate.
Jake sat down alongside him.
"I guess I should've been here. Not hiding up in our room, but down here helping you," he sympathized. "…Maybe next time?"
"Ehh… If you want. If there IS a next time," Sunny lamented.
"There probably will be. They looked like they had a good time," Jake said.
Sunny peeked out at Jake before lowering his arm. He contemplated his words for a little while, tapping his fingers together almost anxiously.
"Did… Did you have a good time?" he finally asked.
Jake was surprised by the initiative. "Sure!... Do you want to hear about it?"
"Ehhh…" Sunny made a so-so gesture before nodding, folding his hands together on his chest. "…Mmm, okay. Might gimmie a few laughs."
"Well, first off, we headed up to the West Arcade…"
Jake began to retell the night in extensive detail. While Sunny was still not keen on this whole splitting without leave a note or warning, it was nice to hear Jake so excited about something that wasn't about Staff Bot stuff.
That alone started to make Sunny feel a little better.
Meanwhile, Jeremy and the cart barely fit in the lift together but managed enough to ride to the second floor. He then he began to push them back towards the entranceway. He didn't realize until he was doing so how much having a second person pulling helped the process. It wasn't impossible, but after a long night it was tiring.
"Hey!"
Jeremy's head snapped up to see Natalie waving at him from beside the gate. Smitty and Buddy were both standing at attention nearby. Forget-Me-Not peeked out of the cart as well and spied ahead as Jeremy wheeled them to the other blond.
"Change of plans. Mari's held up by Chica, so I'm going to be your escort for the evening," she said.
She grabbed the other side of the cart and helped him guide it through the gate.
"Thanks," Jeremy said. "When you say 'held up'?"
"She caught him singing in the atrium and chased him down the east hall- down towards the bakery."
Jeremy gawked at her.
"Yeah, it was a little messy," Natalie agreed with a knowing smile.
"That Mari. Always the showman, ha ha ha!" Max complimented.
Natalie gave the cart a tug and Jeremy went back to pushing, assisting as they turned the cart in the direction of the security door.
"Here's the deal though: if anyone does see us, you're my brother," Natalie added.
"Won't that get you in trouble?" Jeremy asked.
"Not as much as if you were some guy off the street. Or, worse, the man they thought vandalized Rockstar Row. They still think that's you."
"… Wait! They do?!" Jeremy sputtered. "They're not still planning on pressing charges, are they? They couldn't! There's… There can't be enough evidence to pin it on me…" His voice trailed off as he recalled that Freddy's didn't exactly need evidence.
"No, don't worry. It sounds like Wight's letting it drop to not mess things up with Foxy's. Ness told me," Natalie assured him.
"Great! That's good to hear. Really good to hear," Jeremy sighed with relief.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Natalie assured. She paused thoughtfully. "…But then again it DID come from Ness, and I don't know what game she's playing. But I don't think- No, don't worry about it. I don't think she was lying," she quickly tacked on, noticing that fear creeping back onto Jeremy face. "Now come on. Let's get you all out of here."
Now there was something he could agree with.
She helped him move the carts from elevator to elevator until they reached the basement and then helped him lead it into the loading dock. Smitty followed along loyally, though they had lost Buddy halfway through the atrium when he spotted something on the floor by the food court and wheeled over to start mopping it up.
By time they got into the basement they had gotten turned around with Jeremy pulling and Natalie pushing- and she insisted that she didn't need to switch places- and there still wasn't any sign of Marionette. They made their way into the loading dock and to the exit door before stopping beside it.
"We'll just leave the cart here and I'll carry them out," Jeremy said.
"Good, because we're not getting this up those stairs," Natalie said, slightly winded.
Jeremy gathered up all the Minireenas onto his shoulders and arms where they held on, then managed to scoop up both Bidybabs and Plushtrap. He walked over to the exit door and pushed it open with his arm.
"Just wait here with them and I'll be right b-."
Only to come face to face with a white mask peeking through the doorway.
"ACK!"
He hobbled slightly and Marionette quickly reached out an arm to steady him.
"Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized. He slid in through the partially open door.
"N-No problem. I'm just a little jumpy. Basement and all, uh… How'd it go with Chica?"
"You heard it too?" Marionette asked in surprise. His smile becoming much more flustered in an instant.
"Nat told me she saw her chase you off," Jeremy explained. He gestured a thumb to Natalie.
"Hey," she said with a wave. "Everything go well?"
"For the most part. Thankfully, Freddy was there to help us get her out from under the bathroom stall."
Natalie scrunched up her face questioningly.
"Heard what? Did Chica do something?" Jeremy asked.
Marionette gave a flippant wave. "Oh, nothing! Something like that! I headed straight to the daycare once I was off the hook, but you had already left by time I got there. How did things go with Sunny?"
"As a matter of fact: bad."
Marionette looked over at the cart and at Balloon Boy who was peeking out. Balloon Boy laughed proudly.
"Good guess, and yes. But I meant about the whole Jake sneaking out thing," Jeremy clarified. He made a light hissing noise. "He didn't like that."
"Wait, Jake was out?" Natalie asked in surprise. "That's like spotting Bigfoot. How'd you pull that off?"
"Oh, we just dragged him up and down the Pizzaplex, encouraged some risky behaviors, nothing that we don't usually do," Marionette joked. As he did, he acknowledged Smitty who rolled up beside him and was currently shining his light on him. He smiled at the Staff Bot with amusement. "Hello to you too! Goodness, everyone's so eager to say hello to me tonight."
"Smitty, heel," Natalie said.
Much to their surprise- and even her own- Smitty obeyed that unserious command and rolled back over to Natalie's side. He lowered his flashlight and looked to her expectantly. She smiled back at him before turning back to the others.
"I need to head back upstairs. Think you've got it from here?"
"No less than usual," Jeremy joked, readjusting his grip around the animatronics in his arms.
"We are actually very good," Bow disagreed.
"Yes. Sundrop told us so," Button added.
"No, no. His name is not Sundrop, it's Sunshine," Bow argued.
"You keep saying that, but it's not true."
"I've got to get out of here before this gets ugly. Stay safe driving home!" Jeremy said. He started to push open the door with his arm before Marionette got it for him. "Thank you."
"I could say the same to you. Take care!"
With that, Natalie went on her way and they went on theirs. Her safely returning to her office while they got out into the car and were soon driving out of the parking lot.
It was while Jeremy was carrying Max to the car that he started to notice something was up with Balloon Boy. He had let himself into the passenger seat- something very like him- but with no laugh once he was noticed. He was silent, staring ahead at the dashboard as Jeremy got in. Dead silent- though Balloon Boy was frequently eerily silent it was weird to have him silent AND stiflingly still.
Especially since it lined up with that banning at the daycare. The sticker was still on his head. Was it possible that he felt bad for teasing Sun? Or got his feelings hurt by being banned?
Well, there was only one way to find out.
"What's up, BB? You've been pretty quiet," Jeremy said.
Balloon Boy didn't reply.
Marionette peeked over the shoulder of the passenger seat and down at him. He tilted his head.
"What's that sticker on your head?" he asked.
"He got himself banned from the daycare," Max chimed in.
"Uh oh."
"Yes, that." Max's eyes snapped to the rearview mirror. "What's bothering him is that Sun guy. Now that we have a name for the face and a face to put back on the name, we get to remember all the fun stunts he pulled."
"He was that bad?" Jeremy asked, looking in the mirror.
"Not as bad as Gabe, ha ha ha! But oh boy, he was something alright. Always acting out and throwing little fits when he didn't get his way. Just a real snot-nosed brat, and he wasn't even that much younger." Max's eyes rolled to Marionette and he asked, "He clocked you with a pizza slice, right? That was the deal?"
"…Yes." Mari said quietly.
"Totally on-brand for him. Worst part is that after all this time he's just-."
"He's my brother."
A tense silence fell over the car as everyone processed the weight of that interjection.
Jeremy looked over to Balloon Boy in the passenger seat. "He is? Are you sure?" he asked in surprise.
"As sure as I am that I had a brother named Andrew. Who went missing."
There was a tense silence in the car. Only interrupted by the car itself and by the soft, anxious chattering of Plushtrap's teeth.
"…Oh." Even Max sounded uncharacteristically awkward. "…You could've told me that before I started going off on him."
"What's the point? You were right. Andrew acted out for attention, and nobody liked him because of it."
"That's not true. I'm assuming you… liked him?" Marionette asked. A little unsureness edging into his voice by the end. Balloon Boy's matter-of-fact retelling was having him second guessing butting in.
"I didn't always like him, but I loved him. He was my brother! Half-brother, but still my brother... But our parents weren't in on the whole family thing." Balloon Boy let out a deflating balloon noise as a sigh. "Dad was never around and Mom… she had this stupid idea on how to raise kids. Andrew was always being bad, so she would give me special treatment to encourage him to be better. It didn't work."
"I think my parents did that too," Jeremy quietly sympathized.
"It doesn't do anything but turns kids against each other. Andrew thought I was their favorite and I knew what she was doing, so I knew all the gifts were just to get back at Andrew. But I didn't do anything about it."
"You couldn't," Marionette said. He knew that feeling well.
"I could've stopped him. He told me he was running away and I didn't do anything because I knew he'd get in trouble. And I thought he was going to come back, but he didn't… I'm pretty sure he went back to Freddy's."
"I'm so sorry…"
"It's not your fault, BB. You didn't know what was going to happen. You were just trying to look out for him," Jeremy said.
"No, that was on me. But I know they wouldn't have gone after him anyways. I could've, but… I don't think that would've changed anything."
"How'd your parents take that?" Max asked.
"They were still thinking he'd just show up whenever when I disappeared… I bet they're happy wherever they are."
Balloon Boy laughed darkly, bitterly, and slumped into the seat. His head thumping against the car door.
Jeremy looked to Balloon Boy and back to the road, and then glanced to Marionette who was now looking at him. He looked just as concerned as Jeremy felt. There had to be something he could do.
"We've still got time. I can turn around right now and we can go back into the Pizzaplex," he offered. "You can talk to him! Forget the banning thing, you should tell him the truth."
"Yes! I agree! This changes everything. It won't matter what happened tonight," Marionette chimed in.
"No. It's better we don't. He's got a good thing… He's got a thing going for him. All that telling him is going to do is remind him about all that junk. I didn't even remember it until now…"
"Are you sure?" Jeremy asked doubtfully.
"I sure hope he doesn't remember anything about that old life."
Jeremy frowned and let the matter drop. He wasn't sure if he agreed, but it really wasn't his place to say. If this was what Balloon Boy wanted, then he would go along with it and let it drop for now.
"I understand… but he, well, he remembers the pizza slice incident too unfortunately," Marionette finally said.
"…God damn it."
…
Mike woke up and found himself staring at the office ceiling. His head half-wedged in between the arm of the office couch and the back of it.
"Must've fallen asleep," he thought. He checked his watch and swore under his breath. He grabbed the back of the couch and pulled himself upright. "Fritz, you were supposed to wake me up."
He looked over to see Fritz slouched in the office chair with his head tilted back as far as it would good.
"Fritz," Mike called again.
Fritz jolted awake only to grab for the back of his neck with a hiss.
"That was a mistake," he muttered.
"You can say that again," Mike agreed. He wasn't exactly feeling so hot either with a couple hours of sleep on a short couch.
"That was a mistake," Fritz doubled down. Head still cocked as he tried to massage the soreness away.
"Did we finish?"
"Pretty much."
Fritz sat forward again, running his hands through his hair and scratching his head, and squinting down at the paperwork. He stared at it for a couple of long seconds before straightening the stack and setting it aside.
"Good enough," he said. He leaned back in the chair and stretched with a sigh.
Mike leaned back on the couch.
"Feel up to driving home?" he tiredly asked.
"I would, but I really shouldn't be driving when I've already got whiplash."
"I'll drive," Mike offered.
That is, Mike offered as he was slumped into the couch and making no move to get up.
"…Or we could just hang out here for twenty minutes and open," Mike added.
Fritz half-laughed. "I don't know if want the sort of customers who're going to be looking for pizza at four am."
"Funny you say that, because that sounds exactly like something we'd do."
"Open at four am or go out for pizza at four am?"
"Both."
Mike sat there for a moment before checking his watch again.
"Jere and Mare have got to be home by now," he mumbled.
"Think it went alright?"
"Sure. They would've called me if it hadn't."
"I thought there wasn't any cell service," Fritz reminded.
"Their landlines work."
"Right. I'm not all awake."
"Yeah," Mike agreed. His lack of a more cohesive answer giving it away.
After a long minute or two of them just sitting there in the office half awake, Fritz started to fiddle with his own wristwatch. Unlike Mike's it was digital.
"Okay, here's the plan. I'm setting my alarm for two hours," Fritz said. He clicked at his watch a little bit. Then stretched out his arm. "Throw me that little pillow down there."
Mike tossed it over to him. "Knock yourself out."
Fritz then crossed his arms around the pillow and laid his head on it, on the desk, still sitting precariously in the office chair.
Mike watched him with mild amusement before settling back into the couch, kicking his shoes off as he did. He pulled the other throw pillow over his face, not feeling like getting up to turn out the light. It's not like it stopped them from falling asleep the first time.
He was almost about to fade out again when he heard a shuffling and the office door creaking open. He peeked out from under the pillow to see Foxy's head poking in.
"The bloody hey 'er you two still doin' here?"
"We're going to take a two-hour nap and head home," Fritz said, not even lifting his head to address Foxy.
Foxy looked between the two men, one sprawled on the couch and the other sleeping at an office desk, and shook his head.
"Workin' with a couple'a weirdos."
He left and shut the door behind him. A few long seconds later, Mike dignified it with a response.
"Takes one to know one."
"Zing," Fritz agreed.
…
He had to find her, but where could she be? She was in the house somewhere, but where? He had to ask someone.
Charlie was out visiting in the living room, so he checked Jeremy's room, but there was nobody there. Not even any of the little Mini-matronics. He would have to know so that meant finding him, and since he wasn't here he had to be on the other side of the house.
Which was a huge problem because Charlie's family was out in the living room. Sammy, their mother, and a bunch of other unidentified people were all mingling out in the living room.
But he had to find Jeremy. He got halfway down the hall before crouching down and beginning to shuffle along the floor like an inch worm. Slowly sliding into the edge of the living room.
The moment he breached the door alarm bells went off. People rushed over and saw him and began to panic and scream.
Which was a seeming overreaction. Michael, Springtrap, was currently laying on the couch with Charlie and Sammy sitting in front of his legs and nobody had a problem with him. Charlie was disguised as a human, as she did when visitors came, so nobody knew that she was a puppet too.
It was a weird first impression to leave on the family, Charlie's mother screaming and freaking out while the other family members kind of just congregated around staring and pointing. One man in sweats and a heavy jogging coat looked familiar. Sammy looked VERY familiar. He almost looked identical to Carlton.
But he couldn't waste time, so he got up and ran as fast as he could- like a speeding bullet, zooming through the kitchen and through the door into the other hallway that led to the other side of the house. The groovy orange wallpaper trailing along beside him as he zipped past open guest room doors, like hotel rooms, searching for Jeremy.
He found him at one of the rooms towards the end of the hall laying on a bed like he had been napping. He woke up as he ran in and sat up to greet him.
"What's going on?"
"Don't worry about it. But where's your friend? I want to ask her about Breelora," he asked.
He couldn't remember her name, but thankfully Jeremy knew exactly who he meant.
"She's using the bathroom," Jeremy replied.
Of course, there was only one bathroom in the house. Goodness, this many guests and only one bathroom. He needed to make sure they had toilet paper. As he ran back through the house, he stopped by kitchen to dig through the groceries left on the dining room table and managed to open a new package and pull out a roll. He then continued to race for the bathroom, trying to get past everyone before one of them tried to catch him.
But now everyone was standing in front of the hallway. Thinking fast, he dropped down and slid underneath and through their legs, the momentum carrying him all the way into the hallway before he ran to the bathroom door.
The door wasn't opening so he knocked on it, and much to his surprise it teetered and fell into the bathroom. How did that happen? The wood must've rotted from the humidity- that would be a major repair.
The bathroom was certainly humid. It was downright foggy and hot, and he could hear splashing inside, from somewhere beyond the closed shower curtain.
He fumbled into the bathroom on unsteady stilts for legs and grabbed ahold of the edge of the shower curtain. He had a feeling that something was going to jump out when he opened it, but he found himself stuck there with his hand grabbing the sticky shower curtain. Water splashing out of the tub and down onto the tiled floor, soaking into the bathmat and splashing up on his legs.
He yanked the curtain aside and stared down at kicking legs in an overfilled bathtub.
He pushed the curtain and it slid all the way open and revealed the sight in full. A woman fully submerged in the bathtub, it large enough to swallow her whole, thrashing and seizing. Water spilling over the edge but constantly filling in through the faucet that her head was stuck underneath.
There was something locked around her head and eyes, some kind of helmet or headset. Locked down, weighing her down. All he could see of her face was her mouth stretched open in a stifled scream. She was drowning.
He tried to pull her out of the tub, but he couldn't. She was too heavy, he was too weak, and something was holding her down. He couldn't even lift her head to save her because her head was somehow wedged underneath the faucet.
The water smelled weird. Smelled like chemicals. Smelled foul like fetid lake water. Reddish. Filling her lungs.
He grabbed for a towel and yelled for help. Charlie ran up with everybody else, but they couldn't get past the door on the floor. So, he grabbed a towel and tried to cover the woman's mouth with it. Soak it up, soak all the water up.
But there was too much and then-.
And then it was over.
…
..
.
..
…
Mike flopped down onto the couch with a fresh cup of coffee. He was feeling surprisingly awake considering his bizarre night before, half sleeping at the office and half sleeping at home. Managing to get a few more hours of sleep once he got home before detangling himself from Marionette and dragging himself out of bed and getting ready for the day. He let Marionette sleep a little longer.
Michael was sitting on the couch beside him staring intensely at his notebook. He acknowledged Mike with a glance and a hum before studying that notebook again. Tapping his pencil against the edge of it.
"How's it going?" Mike asked.
"Slow," Michael replied.
Stealing a glance at the notebook, Mike realized he was drawing up schematics. He more boldly sat up to look and scooted closer.
"Are those for Charlie?" he asked.
"They are. Well, almost. Just putting down my thoughts to see them better."
"They're cool. I say as someone who doesn't understand what I'm looking at."
"Yes, you do. Here." Michael held out the notebook and began pointing at the pieces. "Leg. Spring. Ball joint. This is my imagined joint to attach the ankle to the leg."
"Okay, I see it now. And the spring replaces the muscle?"
"Exactly."
"Does Charlie have springs in her legs now?"
"It feels like she does. Many of the newer models have them. For example-."
Michael went off into an explanation of various animatronics' mechanics that was both impressive and daunting. For someone who wanted to get into the business like Mike it was eye-opening. Interesting- he tried to soak up as much of it as he could, sponging up Michael's schooling and experience- but it reminded him how far out of his league he was.
At some point Balloon Boy appeared and neither of them would've noticed if not for the short animatronic suddenly clamoring up into the armchair and then going limp.
Mike and Michael stared at the baffling flurry of legs.
"Hey, BB," Mike greeted, assuming he wanted acknowledgement.
Balloon Boy gave a small 'eh' noise.
Mike looked back to Michael. "What's up with him?"
"I'm not sure." Michael stole a look of his own. His eyes narrowing questioningly, like he only just wondered himself.
"He had a little family reunion last night," Max tiredly said from the corner. His eyes still fixated on the television screen.
Michael sighed. "Yes, that can do it."
"With who?" Mike asked Balloon Boy. Even without an answer, he quickly pieced together what must've happened. It wasn't too hard to guess.
"Sun Man."
"Huh, I can see the family resemblance," Mike said.
It wasn't sarcasm either. Sunny had at times acted like little more than an oversized Balloon Boy. If anything, having the two be related made too much sense.
"And then he got banned for tinkering with the equipment."
Mike raised his brows.
"No, not that equipment, you freak."
"You can't use words like that without raising a few eyebrows," Mike retorted. "But that's good to know. I can take my coffee without a whisky chaser."
The conversation gave Michael an unexpected idea- at least, the discussion of the Daycare Attendant reminded him that he existed. From what he knew he was a more lightweight model…
"The Sun… What size is he? If you could make a comparison," he asked Max.
Max snapped his head around. "Looking to make a salvage, ha ha ha?"
"I'm looking to score a free replacement part if it's possible. I've heard of their replace and dump formula they use at the Pizzaplex."
"We were able to replace half of his chest pretty quickly after Monty football tackled him, so I'd say that warehouse is probably stacked with parts," Mike said. While he was getting up, and he walked over beside the armchair to pat Balloon Boy on the head. "Sounds like a hell of a night. Did you tell him?"
"No."
"Well, your secret's safe with us. Sorry it had to come out like that," Mike sympathized.
He heard doors and movement in the hall and looked down it. He caught a glimpse of a familiar form at the end of the hallway darting into Jeremy's room and then back out again. The long, dark form of Marionette. Charlie at the same time was coming out of her room and hurrying over to him.
"Morning! What's- Mari?"
Mike's voice caught in surprise when Marionette turned to face him and he saw his face twisted in anguish. Purple tears pouring down his mask from glowing eyes.
"Whoa, what happened? Are you okay?" Mike asked with concern. He set his coffee down on the side table and went to him.
Marionette met him at the entrance of the hallway looking almost frantic. He looked around for someone, and Mike laid his hands on his shoulders to brace him.
"Hey, what's going on?" he gently probed.
"I had a bad dream. A terrible, terrible dream," Marionette choked. "Where's Jeremy?"
"He's taking a shower. He'll be quick, don't worry."
Mike rubbed his shoulders attempting to soothe him, but the Puppet was too tightly wound to calm down.
Charlie had followed and now Mike could see that she looked concerned too. Marionette acknowledged her as well.
"I-I didn't wake you up, did I?" he asked shakily.
"No! No, no. I was just messing around in my room," Charlie assured. She patted his back affirmingly. "Want to talk about it?"
"Not yet. I need to tell Jeremy first. I need to know if what I saw… If it was just a dream or if I saw… I need to see him. How long has he been in there?"
"A while, but unless he's deaf he probably hears us hanging out out here," Mike said. He squeezed Marionette's shoulders again. "Easy. It's okay. We'll get this all figured out."
"I hope I'm wrong," Marionette said in a tiny squeak. "I hope it was just something horrible I concocted in my head…!"
Now he was getting a clearer picture of what happened, and it was concerning. Because Mike knew from experience that Marionette had nightmares, but he also had plenty of dreams that weren't just dreams.
Without any more delay, Mike pulled Marionette into a protective hug. He rubbed up and down his back, feeling the ticking of his music box. Anxious, upset, but not overheating. Good. Mike didn't like seeing Marionette upset, but there was nothing more frightening than feeling that fever and not knowing what it was or how to fix it. He might've not been able to fix this, but at least he could do whatever he could to help.
Mike held on tightly and only pulled back once the bathroom door started to open. Bumping into Michael who had come up behind him. He heard and smelled him coming but hadn't realized he was all but on top of him until then.
"What's going on?" Jeremy asked. From the concern on his face and how quickly he came out, likely he heard some of what was going on, as Mike predicted he would.
Marionette rounded on him quickly and Jeremy's eyes widened at the look on his face when he did. Especially when the Puppet took him by the shoulders almost like Mike had done to him, though more out of desperation.
"When was the last time you spoke to your friend? The girl who worked at Freddy's? She was at Animatronicon."
"Bree?"
"Yes!" Marionette sobbed unexpectedly. "When did you call her last? When?!"
And in that one second, Mike and Charlie were up to speed. Michael was still behind but catching up.
"I-I haven't called her. I meant to after the Pizzaplex-."
"I need you to call her. Please. Now. Please."
"O-Okay, I will. Right now. First thing," Jeremy stuttered. He pointed down the hall. "I've got to go get her number."
Marionette nodded and let him go, watching the blond hurry down towards his bedroom door.
In the meantime, Michael turned and headed back into the living room, gesturing as he did for them to follow.
Mike hooked an arm around Marionette's shoulder and steered him into the living room and led him to the couch. On the way he grabbed his coffee mug and took a quick gulp. He'd surely need it. Then he sat back down, Marionette now between Michael and him, and prepared to wait it out.
Charlie started to climb into her chair, over the armrest, when she spotted Balloon Boy at the last second and slinked back off. Eventually taking a seat on the living room rug. She noticed Max looking and looked back. He gestured to Marionette with his eyes, but whether he was asking or saying something in that motion she wasn't sure.
"I'm calling from your bedroom!" Jeremy yelled down the hall.
"Go ahead!" Mike replied.
"I know this is a godawful time, Marion, but about how big is the Sun?" Michael murmured. Side-eying him as he got his notebook back in his lap.
Marionette stared back with a dismayed expression.
"For Charlie," Michael clarified.
"Oh! Umm, he's… About this tall on me, but he's often hunching over-."
Mike almost cracked wise, but he was glad that Marionette had a distraction. He didn't know if Michael did it on purpose, but he appreciated it regardless.
It wasn't long before Jeremy shuffled back down the hallway.
The look on his face said it all.
"She didn't pick up?" Mike asked.
"She didn't…" Jeremy said awkwardly.
There was something else obviously, though Jeremy was having trouble spitting it out with how Marionette was looking at him. Already panicked, and Jeremy himself didn't look far behind.
"…Her phone was disconnected."
Marionette shot up from the couch with a startle crackle.
"But maybe I have the wrong number! I- I could've written it down wrong, she could've changed phones, it doesn't mean that she's not… there. Bree wouldn't have gotten involved with Freddy's, and-and they weren't hiring former workers anyway!" Jeremy said.
There came the panic. Jeremy could say anything but that wasn't what Marionette was hearing. He was hearing his fear and that along with his nightmare painted an image he couldn't get out of his head.
That image of a woman drowning in a bathtub, Beelora telling him she remembered a bathtub, and him unable to tell if it was a vision or something his mind cooked up on its own.
"It's her," Marionette decided. Panicked music beginning to tumble and twang out of his music box. "It has to be. And she's not the only one! First that technician who disappeared, and now-!"
He began to flitter around in place. Mike got up to try and assure him, but this time it was easier attempted than done. Marionette was too worked up to calm down.
"That technician… It's either Freddy or Monty. I know it. Freddy isn't- he must be human, and you said yourself, Mike, Monty knows too much about how the Pizzaplex was built to be a mindless machine," he said through shaky sobs.
Mike knew he was right, and he wanted to give the benefit of the doubt on this spontaneous vision, but-
God, the smell in the elevator.
Marionette grabbed at his head until Mike pulled his arms away. Instead giving him his own hands to hold onto. Mike's eyes widened and darted between the Puppet's arms and mask as he realized that he was once again heating up. It wasn't too noticeable yet, but his hands were too warm.
Within seconds the went from noticeably warm to feverish, and Mike could feel something just beginning to scrape at the back of his head. He had to do something or say something.
But what was he supposed to say? "At least if they're animatronics they're not truly dead?" "There's still time to help them?" "We should've known Freddy's would pull a stunt like this-." Nothing was assuring and 'it's going to be okay' wasn't going to cut it.
Nothing. Not a damn thing.
Because as much as Mike wanted to think that he knew this was coming and that he wasn't surprised- 'That's our Freddy's!' Somehow, he had convinced himself that maybe it was different this time around. Maybe it wasn't so bad.
But it was worse. He felt like a sucker even getting his hopes up- like one of those people who lambasted the old Freddy's but eagerly threw money at the new one. A fool, a chump.
The worst part was he didn't know how much of this was him and how much was Marionette bleeding into the back of his mind. It could've easily been a little from both of them.
Mike finally spoke, but all he could say was a defeated, "I'd put my money on Freddy." After all, he knew that Staff Bot trick. No average joe would've known that.
Marionette gave a solemn nod.
Mike didn't release Marionette's hands even though they were starting to grow uncomfortably hot.
"Did you- Did Beelora say something?" Jeremy asked.
"He had a dream about her," Michael clarified.
"I had a nightmare about Bree," Marionette corrected. His voice shaky and staticky. "And it was just as real as if I saw it with my own eyes! It must be her! Freddy's is killing their-!"
With a loud POP the living room bulb burst above his head.
Jeremy jumped, Michael flinched, and Marionette reflexively lurched forward for Mike and grabbed him like he was shielding him from a bullet. The sheer heat caused Mike to inhale sharply, though one could've believed that it was just the pop and motion that caused it.
"What… just happened?" Charlie asked, startled.
"The bulb blew," Max said matter-of-factly.
Charlie gave him a look. "Really? I had no idea."
Marionette looked up at the light fixture. Of the three bulbs only one had been screwed in for use- most of the guests haunting the living room preferring a lower light- and only that one had popped. Its jagged base left in place.
"Did I…?" Marionette asked quietly. "…Did I do that?"
"Maybe, but it could also be those cheap-ass bulbs I've been swiping from the restaurant," Mike said, carefully dusting Marionette down in case any glass got on him. "Nobody tell Foxy."
"Foxy would probably be doing it too if he needed the bulbs," Jeremy said with an anxious chuckle.
It did little to ease the mood.
"Maybe I'm just overreacting. If I could get ahold of the company she worked at I could ask… Scott!" Jeremy snapped his fingers. "Scott was working with the same company that Bree worked for! I could- I'll call him and get the number for him." He turned to go do so.
"Excellent idea but give it an hour. Scott won't be up yet," Michael forewarned, stopping Jeremy in his tracks.
"Oh. Good idea. Thanks."
Jeremy stood there awkwardly for a long second before shuffling off into the kitchen. He started to make himself a bowl of cereal, already feeling a gnawing at his stomach that he wanted to smother.
Charlie moved to the couch to sit with Michael while Mike led Marionette out from under the light before getting the dust broom to sweep it up. By time he was done, Jeremy was sitting at the dining room table eating and Marionette was sitting across from him. Mike joined them, grabbing his mug and sitting alongside Marionette. He put his arm around his slumped shoulders. In return, Marionette laid a hand on his.
"How'd it go last night?" he dared to ask, expecting the worst.
"It went wonderfully. One of our best visits by far," Marionette said with a still teary voice.
That was the last thing Mike was expecting.
"It was. Jake even tagged along, and we hung out for a while," Jeremy agreed. "We went to the arcade and hung out at the bounce park."
"I got a hat," Marionette added.
"He got a hat."
"I'll bring it out and show it to you in a bit," Marionette said. "Also, Chica and I are now on speaking terms."
"How'd you pull that one off?" Mike asked in surprise.
"She heard me singing in the atrium and chased me into her bakery, then she got herself stuck under the bathroom door and we had a lovely little chat. We're not friends, but she let me leave willingly," Marionette recounted.
"So that's what happened last night! I was wondering about that," Jeremy said. He managed a smile despite the tenseness.
"Sounds like a pretty good night to me. Wish I could've joined you, but duty called."
"How'd things go with Fritz?" Jeremy asked.
"We cleaned the stall last night."
"Oh, Mike. I'm so sorry. Is that why you're not eating?" Marionette asked. The edge of a joking tone there.
"No, but it's why I didn't bring any leftovers home," Mike replied.
This roused the faintest chime, one that ended in a soft twang.
He was trying, that much was clear. He was trying so hard to put on a brave face when they both knew the wait was killing him.
The only consolation for Mike was that despite whatever happened with the lightbulb, Marionette had cooled back down. As a matter of fact, he had cooled down almost instantly afterwards. Like he had released all of it and it just happened to blow the bulb- maybe through some sort of telekinesis or unseen overcharge. Mike didn't know and while he was curious, that would have to wait for a better time.
But he still felt like he needed to say something.
He knew what he wanted to say.
"Hey."
Marionette looked to him.
"I love you."
Marionette barely managed a little smile. A glossy purple tear sliding down one of his stripes.
"I love you too."
And that was all that needed to be said.
…
…
…
"I tried both numbers and got nothing. I think they must've shut down or, more likely, they got absorbed by Fazbear Entertainment. I know they were working closely with them last time I asked. I don't know. Let me email my man on the inside and see if he knows anything about this. I'll call you back as soon as he answers."
"Sounds good. Thanks for doing this, Scott."
"No problem. And uh, drop on by if you want to, you know. My door's always open."
"I might take you up on that. Tell Ennard and Baby I said hi."
"Will do, and same to your bunch."
It wasn't until Jeremy hung up the phone that the hollowness crept in. That was all he needed. He knew now. Even if Scott was unsure, even if it could be nothing, he knew it wasn't. This was his confirmation.
He wouldn't tell Marionette until later. By then maybe he would have the nerve to do so.
Jeremy took a shaky breath and continued getting ready for work.