Going Home in a Box
Chapter Eighty-Four
…
What a night. She hadn't even been involved in the race or rescue afterwards and she felt worn out. All that was left now was to return to the Hive Arcade for a quiet, lonely night until opening.
Beelora dragged herself back to the arcade. Nearly literally, with her often relying on railings and elsewise to help move herself, and then having to take careful but quick steps between carpets. They looked more graceful than they truly were, but that was a result of the way her body was built. If she wanted to regain balance, it was easiest to throw a spin in to recalibrate.
But she finally arrived at the West Arcade, and she carefully stepped through the entranceway only to be taken by surprise to see that there was someone waiting for her.
There, beside the fountain, was the large form of DJ Music Man. He is waiting there expectantly, lifting himself up to alert as she came through, standing on three hands and using a fourth to wave. His second pair of arms rested in front of him, his hands tightly clasped together.
Beelora was surprised but expected that he was coming to retrieve his little doppelganger. She quickly straightened herself and took care not to fall as she stepped out of the lift.
"DJ Music Man, what a surprise! It's good to see you though. It's been a crazy night, and I could use a friendly face… Oh! But you're probably here for your little buddy. Go on, dear."
Mini Music Man didn't need any further encouragement and rushed over to the DJ. He picked it up with his once waving hand and stuck it to his back. Beelora found it endearing, not noticing how the two didn't address nor acknowledge each other at all.
DJ Music Man tilted his head questioningly, but the way he had his hands together seemed to be either out of anxiousness or worry. He must've heard that something happened.
"There was an accident on the raceway. I'm not sure what happened, but Roxy was injured…" Beelora lowered her head somberly. "I'm not sure what happened, but I know they were taking her to be fixed. Hopefully they can fix her."
The DJ made a tone. The heavy rumble of a bass that was hard to pinpoint but distinctly sounded concerned. She snapped her head back up and noticed his posture matched.
"Me? I-I'm fine! I'm very lucky, really. But… it's a shame that it had to happen. I was looking forward to it- Not that I don't care about Roxy! I do, I just wish we could've had a good time. We had plans to celebrate afterwards and it's hard to pass that up. You know how quiet it gets- OH!"
Not paying attention, Beelora had started stepping in place when she lost traction on one foot, and it slid out from underneath her. She fell onto one bent leg, the other stuck out, her arms poised at her sides- if not for the suddenness of it, it might've looked like a dramatic ballet move. She would've breathed a sigh of relief that she pulled off that opposed to falling on her face.
The DJ quickly unclasped his two hands and offered them to her, and she held onto them- a hand on a finger of each- and used them to pull herself back up.
"Thank you. I've been doing that all night if you can believe it!" Beelora said with an embarrassed little giggle. "Maybe it's for the best that I get back to my track."
The DJ held up a third hand as though to tell her to, "Wait."
Beelora was surprised he stopped her. "Hmm?"
DJ Music Man pointed to her. He then pointed to his eyes and made a forward motion, like he was seeing something. Then he pointed to her.
"You need to see me?" Beelora guessed. The DJ shook his head and continued motioning. "There's… something I have to see?" she guessed. He nodded and then pointed to his headphones and to her. "Something I need to hear?" He nodded again and she got the picture. "Oh, umm, certainly! Let me just send the Babees back to the hive."
Thinking that it might've involved that possible intruder into the arcade from before, Beelora spun herself and leaned down to address her Babees, who looked up eagerly.
"Go on home, Darlings. Don't worry about me, I'll be back later," she assured them.
They took the command and gave little goodbyes.
"Bye-bye, Mama!"
"Bye-bye, buzz-buzz!"
Before they zipped off towards the Hive Arcade. The door would open for them, she knew, so she was certain they would make it on their own.
She then turned her full attention to the DJ before looking down at her feet, remembering her stumble only a few minutes before.
"If you don't mind… Would you mind…?"
The DJ offered his hand.
"Thank you," Beelora said appreciatively. She sat herself in his hand like it was a regular seat and he easily lifted and carried her away.
He took her back to his dance floor and climbed up onto his stage before, to her surprise, carrying her into the tunnel behind it. He easily made his way through the tunnel maze before eventually coming out high on the wall above the arcade.
Beelora was glad that her distance vision was weak when her eyes were closed, or she might've gotten spooked. A fall from this height would irreparably break her, but the DJ's grip was steady, and his hand turned to always keep her upright. She still held on just in case.
Soon they were back into the tunnels and finally they arrived at their destination. While Beelora didn't recognize the room, she knew that it had to be the private music hall. It was a tall, closed in room with some seating around the borders and the center largely comprised of a dance floor-like stage. Across from the stage was a DJ pedestal for guests to use. For what, Beelora wasn't certain.
The walls had a spiderweb pattern and were decorated with Glamrock character posters, and the seating ranged from couches to small tables with chairs. One of the couches looked out of place. It sat in front of the stage, between it and the guest pedestal. DJ Music Man carefully set her down in front of it, gesturing a hand for her to sit down. She gladly did and looked up expectantly.
"Thank you again. So… what did you need to hear me? Or, no! Need me to hear. Sorry, excuse me," Beelora fumbled out. She was a little flustered and it clearly showed, much to her embarrassment.
DJ Music Man didn't seem to be bothered at all. In fact, the vibrating hum he made seemed to echo fondness. He must've been amused.
But that mood shifted quickly as he suddenly raised his hand. His eyes illuminated with pixel images. One of a victory crown- reserved for a birthday boy or girl- and one of a bee- one of the icons likely used for directing to the Hive Arcade. But tonight, Queen Bee was a direct call out to her.
Then he snapped his fingers and, in that instant, the dark room was illuminated in the neon glow of the stage. The checkerboard pattern flickering between yellow, orange, and pink. Lazer lights illuminated from behind the couch and reached above it, surrounding her, a matching pink color as well. It was so mesmerizing that Beelora couldn't help but open her eyes to see the extent of the lightshow, and it was magnificent.
But it was only the beginning. The DJ grabbed his headphones with one hand and began to motion like DJing with the other, and as he did the room filled with music.
It started with a basic electronic beat backed with a twinkling that reminded her of stars, but that quickly rose, backed by a thrumming bass that she could feel in her chest. Glowing tunes seemed to rise from around her, pumping through the room. The checkerboard floor continued to flicker to the beat as the laser lights pulsed between yellow and pink.
It wasn't just magnificent, it was magical. Beelora had never been so swallowed up by the beat. Swept up by the lights, the performance, and DJ Music Man himself who continued to perform. His eyes occasionally flickering with icons of music notes, hive coins, flowers, and bees. So many bees. So many neon symbols for the lyrics he couldn't sing.
It was very apparent that it was a song about her. Or at least, a song for her. She was audibly buzzing, a hand coming to her mouth in surprise and her eyes wide and watching, glowing the same pink as the lightshow around her. She couldn't believe it! Here she was just thinking today that the DJ didn't even notice her in the same arcade and here he was playing her music.
The ending came too quickly, with one last explosively musical flourish before fading into a soft lull of the twinkling. The lights faded as well, but the stage floor lights remained on. Just reverting to a smooth white that kept the DJ aglow.
Beelora immediately gave unprompted applause, even risking a possible stumble to stand up. Her hands clattering together.
"That was amazing! Oh my goodness, that was the most incredible performance I have ever seen!" she gushed truthfully.
DJ Music Man seemed delighted, with starry icons appearing in his eyes and spinning in them. He then gave a bow. During which, there was a low hum from the top of his head and his hat popped up a small amount with a clink, a CD sticking out underneath it. DJ Music Man carefully retrieved the CD- it was a wonder he could be so gentle with something so fragile, Beelora thought- and handed it to her.
She carefully took it, making sure to only touch the edges, even when his large fingers rested on the backs of her hands and nudged them towards her.
"For me?" she asked, still in shock.
He nodded and it took all she could to not clutch it to her chest.
"It's wonderful! I'll listen to it all the time- I'll even play it in the arcade! If that's okay?" she asked. Again, he eagerly nodded. "Thank you. I-I know you can't play the same song twice. It would've been such a shame to never hear it again," she said. The glow of her half-closed eyes illuminating her cheeks and framing her face.
Heart icons flickered in the DJ's eyes.
Beelora nearly squeaked at the sight. Did that mean what she thought it meant? No, they had to be friendly sort of hearts. That was all. Though she certainly wanted to believe it meant more, maybe it meant more?
She really hoped it meant more.
This was the part where she was supposed to thank him and leave for the arcade. After all, it would be greedy to ask for more, and he couldn't play it again. And as fantastic as the CD likely was, it wouldn't be anything like the amazing lightshow she had just experienced. She just wanted more.
"I know this is a lot to ask, but umm…" Beelora fiddled her hands together as she looked up to him. "W-Would you mind playing me another?"
The DJ nodded without hesitation.
He had already made nearly a dozen waiting for her to get back, and he wanted nothing more for her to listen to every one.
…
Fritz had a feeling that they were going to get cut off right before they could touch that face. They got close. They had gotten the ears done; that close to those eyes had gotten his hopes up.
And then they got shut down trying to initiate the face and eye reconstruction. Barred out unless they got clearance from a one Dr. Talbert, someone who none of them had even heard of beyond this and the previous request for him, and perhaps a singular namedrop from Wight in Natalie's case. He was a mystery man who was, unfortunately, not standing in the room with them and thus a glorified key hanging somewhere else.
Fritz gave a remorseful hiss as he looked at the pop-up. Mike exhaled over his shoulder, leaning on the desk with one arm.
"What do we do?" he asked.
"What can we do?" Fritz replied. After a second of sitting there, he started to stand up. "We give her the bad news."
"We?" Mike asked.
"Freddy," Fritz spoke up.
"He ain't here," Foxy spoke up. They looked back questioningly, and he awkwardly fumbled. "He, uh, went to check on somethin'."
"He went to go play around in the daycare," Monty said flatly. Chica lightly punched him in the arm. Monty didn't even flinch, but he did give a nonchalant, "Ow."
"Oh…" Fritz sat there for a second, lamenting his way out.
After a long second, Marionette spoke up, "I'll do it."
Fritz considered it, but then sighed and started getting up again. "No, I should do it. I'm the one who told her we were going to get it done." Mike patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.
"I'll come with you," Natalie offered, standing at his side.
"Yeah, me too," Mike agreed.
"We'll all go!" Marionette proclaimed, mildly humored.
Fritz then marched inside with the small gang in tow, joining Charlie who was inside the capsule already. Since the door had automatically closed when he and Mike walked out, the sound had been muffled enough that neither Charlie nor Roxy heard their low voices. Though Charlie immediately recognized Fritz's look, along with the fact that he and Mike gained two followers.
"Oh…" she simply said.
"What?" Roxy asked.
Fritz took a deep breath. "Sooo, Roxy-."
"No," she interrupted. "Don't you say it!"
He dropped any pretenses with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Roxy."
Roxy let out a frustrated roar and slammed her fists onto the armrests. They made a cracking noise under her blows but didn't falter. Charlie gave a small, startled ring despite bracing herself for the outburst. Marionette leaned and twisted his neck to look over Mike's shoulder and check in on all that was happening.
Meanwhile Fritz flinched but he didn't back down. In fact, he suddenly found himself rather talkative.
"How about this? We can get someone to call in some eyes and I can plug them in. They won't be perfect, but you should be able to see. And if you can't you'll have the security of having them in there," Fritz offered.
"Why would I want to SEE?! I'm hideous! I look DISGUSTING!"
"No, you don't! Does someone with a bruise look disgusting? No. They look wounded. But wounds heal and this can be fixed. Look how quickly they fixed Chica!" Charlie chimed in encouragingly.
"But they didn't give her back a voice box. What're they going to do, leave out my eyes?! How am I supposed to stand on stage and perform with empty eye sockets?!"
Charlie decided the smart decision was to not bring up what Roxy said about not wanting to see herself two seconds ago and instead kept a calm tone.
"If they do, those we can replace easily. Like, ten minutes flat. They just have to fix the… structure of the eye."
"But that's not going to happen anyway, because I'm going to stay over and meet them when they come in, and make sure they work on you first thing," Natalie said with determination.
Roxy let this sit for a moment. It was unclear if any of this was truly comforting her, but the assurances were at least calming her down. She was still twitchy though.
"Y-You're right… They wouldn't. They couldn't afford to screw up any more than they have. People come to this place for me, they couldn't afford to let me stay like… like this," Roxy muttered to herself. She reached up to her head and flinched as she felt her grimy hair, yanking back her hand and starting to get up on her own accord. "But I'm not staying like this all night. The salon- Snippo can clean me up. That… That can buy me time."
"Okay. We can do that. Here, let me help you." Charlie offered her arm before realizing again that she could see it and taking Roxy's.
"I don't need help," Roxy growled lightly. She tried to pull her arm away, but Charlie was steadfast.
"I know, but it makes me feel better about not being able to fix you all the way. At least let me do this," Charlie asked.
Roxy sat there for a second before sighing.
"…Fine."
While Charlie assisted Roxy in getting to her feet, Fritz turned towards Natalie and Mike.
"I'm not sure this is such a good idea," he whispered to that.
"I heard that," Roxy grumbled.
Fritz mouth clamped shut for a moment. Then he turned to her and elaborated.
"Oookay, uh… I'm not sure this is such a good idea. With you know, the exposed… with all that exposed."
"I don't care about what's going on with the inside, I need to clean up the outside. It'll be fine. I've- I've done it before. I just- it'll make it better. A little makeup can cover anything up."
Nobody was convinced, maybe not even Roxy herself, but nobody was going to argue with her. They would just have to keep and eye out and make sure nothing got in the wrong spots.
Everyone moved so Roxy could come out and immediately Chica was at her opposite side to offer support. Monty looked her over and gave a nod.
"Yer lookin' a lot better," he assured.
"Ugh. That's not saying much about how I looked going in," Roxy sighed. Monty chuckled a little.
With her taken care of, it was time to take care of the other patient. Mike hadn't forgotten about him and walked over to where he and Jeremy were sitting on the steps. Foxy no longer draped on Jeremy and instead resting with an arm around his shoulders, Jeremy hooking one around the middle to help keep him up.
"Alright, Foxy, what about you? We can't really work on you here, but we could take a look and see what's up," Mike offered.
Foxy looked away from the mostly fixed up Roxy, relieved to see her better but still down, and back at Mike.
"What about Roxy? She can't go over there alone," he murmured.
"She won't be. Chica, Charlie, and I can go with her. In the meantime, why don't you let Fritz take a look at you?" Marionette offered gently.
"…I can wait til we get to the warehouse. Mike, you go with him," Foxy said, nodding at the Puppet. "Me an Jer'my are going to have a little chat."
Jeremy raised his brows curiously but didn't argue.
"Are you sure?" Marionette asked. He got a worried look when Foxy nodded.
But Mike had both of their backs. "No, he's right. Fritz can poke around but he can't start any real work until we get to the warehouse. No point in slicing him open at the wrong hospital, right?" he suggested.
Marionette nodded in understanding. "I guess that's a good point… You're not in much pain, are you?"
"Trust me, Lad. I've been through way worse than this. I'm just glad to sit down and rest me legs," Foxy reassured him. It was the truth too; he just wanted to sit there for a while.
"That's… only a little assuring, Foxy," Marionette admitted.
"I'll keep an eye on him," Jeremy promised.
"Ye better keep an eye on them, Schmidt. She's loose," Foxy warned, pointing his hook at him.
"Well, she better hope she doesn't run into us, because we're getting pretty tired of this bunny schtick," Mike said. He exchanged a look with Marionette in the middle, who nodded in agreement. He looked back at Foxy with full seriousness. "So, yeah. I'm not letting her get anywhere near us. Over my dead or undead body."
"Real optimistic of ya there, Schmidt," Foxy said with the slightest scoff or half-snicker.
"Just keeping it real."
"Mike will keep us safe, and I'll keep him safe," Marionette agreed. His face softened, "I'm more worried about you two being left alone. When's Freddy supposed to get back?"
"Anytime now. He'll prob'ly come runnin' down here once he hears Roxy's off the table."
"Good."
While this conversation was going on, Chica tried to beckon Monty to come along.
"I've got somethin' to do. I'll meetcha'll later," Monty dismissed. That something to do was to pick his camera up from the desk, turn to Natalie, and offer it to here. "I heard somewhere she don't turn up on cameras?"
"She doesn't, but you can tell she's been there," Natalie said. Her brows raised and her lips pursed thoughtfully as she eyed the camera.
"What about one'a these?"
"She might. Can you get these developed in the Pizzaplex?"
"At any kiosk er photobooth."
"Let's roll."
The two started to stride off together with Smitty in tow and Buddy lagging behind, in the middle of cleaning grime in the corner. Fritz watched them leave and suddenly, he had a bad feeling. He had a feeling that Vanny would be happy to take advantage of the fact that Natalie was running around with only Monty and two Staff Bots.
Especially when she was carrying around possible evidence. Especially when Monty, who was a near stranger, offered that evidence out of nowhere.
"Hey, guys. I'll catch up in a little bit. I'm going to go with them," Fritz said. He then jogged off after them.
"Watch your six!" Mike called after him. Then he remembered something- "Hey, wait!" He bolted after Fritz, catching up right as the man turned back and hooking an arm around him, leaning in close and whispering. "Monty's hot to the touch. Not like overheating hot, like the same thing that's going on with Mari."
"Are you sure?" Fritz whispered back.
"I don't know. Pretty sure. It doesn't burn like Mari's does, but he wasn't as hot as Mari gets."
"Mike, stop telling me the Prize Puppet's hot,"
"No," Mike flatly refused. "Point is, be careful."
"I will. Maybe I can ask him about it."
"Maybe poke around, pull back if he looks like he's going to bite. Want my pocketknife?"
Fritz raised a brow. "For Monty?"
"No, for Vanny."
"No thank. You keep it. I've got my taser."
"Then you're set. We're going to the salon, we'll meet up before sunrise."
With that in agreement, Fritz hurried off through the doorway and Mike returned to his little group to head out.
As Fritz was coming out, while Natalie and Monty were waiting for him, Monty brought up the elephant in the room- or the one he noticed.
"Don't look now, but I think that techie's been checking you out," he mumbled.
She cracked a smile. "You think?"
"Mm-hm." The gator adjusted his sunglasses. "Want me to scare him off?"
"No, don't. He's kinda cute."
He gave her a nod. "Rock on."
Fritz caught up and they headed off to get the pictures developed.
Finally, after checking with Foxy one last time, and giving him a careful hug, Marionette went off with Mike, Chica, Charlie, and Roxy towards the salon.
This left Foxy and Jeremy on their own.
"Jer'my… Let's talk."
Jeremy wasn't sure why that tone immediately made him think of a breakup, but that kneejerk panic was quickly replaced when he realized that wouldn't make any sense. Jeremy patiently waited for Foxy to begin, watching him shift anxiously.
Then finally, Foxy sighed.
"After the accident, me an' Roxy fell down into the basement. Not that far down, but a lotta this- er this-." Foxy gestured to his foot. "Was caused by the fall."
"Wait, your foot's broken too?" Jeremy asked startled.
"Nah, popped outta place. It be fine now, just sore," Foxy brushed off. Jeremy wasn't so eager to overlook it, but Foxy continued so he let it go to listen. "We got attacked by somethin' down there. An endo all covered in wires. It stole Roxy's eyes, it knew MY name, and it chased us around… had that heat on it. That burnin' heat getting into everything. And it chased us… into this room…"
Foxy fidgeted uncomfortably. His eye was wide with unease, his twitchiness was acting up. Jeremy could tell something was wrong. Unable to take his hand- he was afraid to touch it and cause any excess pain- he rested a hand higher on his arm for assurance. This seemed to finally propel Foxy along to get it out.
"We ended up in the furnace."
Jeremy's eyes went wide. "You did…?" he squeaked.
"And it got turned on."
And despite the fact that Foxy was standing here not burnt, Jeremy's heart dropped and panic rose. How did that happen? How COULD that happen so easily?
"How?" Jeremy ended up asking.
"Moon said it got flipped on opening the door. Dunno how that could've happened, but I didn't ask."
Freddy had asked while they were climbing the stairs. Not Moon directly, but out loud. That was probably the only reason Moon has fessed up to it. Though whether it was a guess or covering so the other Glamrocks wouldn't ask about Vanny, Foxy didn't know. At that point Foxy hadn't really cared.
It didn't matter whether that thing turned it on, Vanny, or anybody else. It was a walk-in furnace and it had been on. Foxy had seen the flames. He was seeing them again just thinking about them.
He ducked his head and clawed at the back with his hook. Almost using his hand but Jeremy's hand on his arm stopping him.
"I didn't think I was still torn up about that fire," Gabriel admitted.
"Hey, don't say it like that. Of course you'd be torn up about that. That was horrible, you almost died! Why wouldn't you be torn up about it?"
"Because it didn't happen," he muttered.
"It almost did. You thought it was going to. Heck, you just said that, and I felt like I was about to throw up even though you're sitting here. Just the thought of it makes me sick," Jeremy confessed. This at least got Gabriel to peek a look at him, and Jeremy slid in to hug him. He rested his chin on his head. "Don't beat yourself up about it. Not about this."
Gabriel accepted the hug gladly before giving a weary sigh.
"That's not what I'm beating myself up over. I'm beating myself up because all of this happened because of me."
"Come on, Gabe. You can't blame yourself for what Vanny did. And don't say you shouldn't have been here. Freddy wanted you here, and even if you weren't here, that wouldn't have stopped Vanny from doing whatever."
"Yeah, but I gave that window. It was my idea to race, all because I lost my temper over something stupid."
"Oh yeah? What was it? Let me be the judge on how stupid it was."
"…Roxy made a crack about Michael."
"…Oh." Jeremy didn't have much to say at that. That was probably the worst possible thing Roxy could've done at the worst possible time.
"It wasn't even a bad one. Something small and stupid, but I just… I lost it. I had to show her up. I had to knock her down a peg."
"So, you two decided to race?"
"So, I challenged her to a race."
They sat there quietly for a second as Jeremy considered what to say, but Gabriel beat him to it.
"I could've called him to come fix her too, but I didn't want to tell him. Not because of the comment, he'll never knew. Roxy doesn't even know that's what set me off, we were taking jabs all night. But… I didn't want him down here. It feels like one night here erased everything we've gone through. Getting out of that fire, him meeting back up with up Ben, us taking out our father… It's like none of that matters anymore."
"That's not true, Gabe. Michael wasn't thinking about any of that when he did that… I don't think he did. I think it really was just a sudden thing."
"I've done a lot of stupid, sudden things but… I don't think it was. I might've, but after he told us about it… I don't know what to think." Gabriel pulled tighter against Jeremy, holding on tight despite how much of his body was still sore. "I don't know if I can trust him. He can say all he wants that he was trying to get out of that suit. I know it was more than that… I think he's going to try it again."
"I don't think Michael's going to do it again. I don't think he meant to do it. I mean, he was fine! Or, uh, not fine, but… He just seemed so normal that day. We talked and I didn't notice anything," Jeremy admitted.
He hadn't. He had thought back to it a few times, trying to see if there had been anything he missed, but Michael had seemed fine. He had only planned on going to Scott's. Nobody knew about the Pizzaplex trip. Or the warehouse trip.
"Michael… I love him, but he… he runs away. He always ran away when he needed an out, and whereas I tried to run and always got stuck right where I was, he found a way out. This time there's nowhere to run and I'm afraid what he's going to do if…"
Gabriel's voice slowed as he slowly turned his head towards the door. His body was rigid. Jeremy looked over but he couldn't see anything.
There was a tinkling noise. The second Foxy detected it he pulled back from Jeremy, careful not to hurt him, and shot up to his feet.
"Who's there?!" he barked. His body twitching and his stage voice back in full forth, the threatening drawl of Foxy the Pirate.
But to both of their surprise, the voice that called back was one they didn't expect but made sense considering the sound they had heard.
"I-It's just me!" Sun shouted. He sounded flustered and peeked his head in, waving them off awkwardly. "Sorry, I-I wasn't trying to listen in! We're just, uh… We'll be back later. You two just go on ahead!"
Sunny's jingling could be heard as he bolted away, and Foxy huffed and dropped heavily back onto the steps.
"Eh, course it's Sunny," Foxy muttered. "Which means Freddy prob'ly heard too. He's prob'ly right down yonder."
"I think Freddy will understand," Jeremy assured. He quickly put an arm back around the grumbling pirate.
"Aye, but Freddy's been dealing with the lot of it all night. I don't need him beating himself up 'bout this one."
"You don't need to beat yourself up either. It's not your fault that this happened to Roxy," Jeremy assured. He paused, took a breath, and added, "And what happened to Michael wasn't your fault either."
Foxy processed that for a second before silently dropping his head against Jeremy's shoulder again, then pulling him into another hug. He needed it. They both did.
…
Anyone who thought being blinded would slow Roxy down was sorely mistaken. She practically dragged Chica and Charlie after her as she hastily made her way straight to her salon, the Glamrock Beauty salon.
She pulled her arms back from both animatronics to shove open the doors.
"Snippo! I need hair and makeup- stat!"
There was a loud clatter and crank from above before a hatch slid open on the ceiling and a form slid down though it and along a track looping around the ceiling- it reminded Mike of Marionette's track, but much more complex.
What lowered through the ceiling was, surprisingly, a Staff Bot. That is, an upside-down Staff Bot hanging from the ceiling instead of riding around on a wheeled lower half.
It had four arms as well. Two primary arms that looked like normal arms except instead of hands it had three stout, round fingers on each end- sort of like Marionette had as well but not as slenderly shaped. The other two lower arms were more like the arms attached to the top of the primary control module, one tipped with a pair of built-in scissors and the other with something that looked like a buffer.
As for its design, it had a typical head, save that it had a pair of cream yellow and ruby red sunglasses seemingly bolted onto its forehead. It also had matching yellow and red streaks from its eyes down to its chin, purple round cheeks, and a small triangular red mouth. The first Staff Bot they had seen with a mouth painted on- save the ones that were vandalized.
Its chest was painted almost like a bowling shirt, also in that red with yellow pinstripes. There was also a purple bow stuck to its upper chest. It locked eyes onto Roxy and kept them on her as it zoomed up.
"Welcome to the Glamrock Beauty Salon. Oh, look who it is. It is my favorite customer: Roxanne Wolf. A superstar in my salon? Wow! Only at Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex! Please sit down at a makeup station and we will get you ready for your upcoming show," the Staff Bot said in an automated-sounding voice. "Will the additional guests sit in the waiting area? Roxanne Wolf deserves my full attention."
"Just come with me, he won't care," Roxy said. Which was her way of avoiding asking for assistance getting to the makeup station. She knew exactly where it was, but she was too prideful to risk being seen knocking anything over.
Charlie and Chica led her down the way to a larger station towards the back- her station obviously as the ones lined down the center of the room had seats designed like elevated racecars which she had no chance of climbing into- while Mike and Marionette followed. They then quickly got out of the way as two summoned Staff Bots carried out a rolling tray with a large makeup case on it and another with a rack of accessories on it. The one opened the makeup case- which came with a screen instead of a mirror- before both hurried off.
"Very efficient," Marionette remarked.
"That's one way to put almost getting run over," Mike thought. He then caught himself. "…Better not say that out loud." Instead choosing to hook an arm around Marionette's in case one of them had to yank the other out of the way.
Roxy settled onto the stool of the larger station. Her leg was twitching so badly that she could barely stay seated.
"I just- I just need you to get me presentable so that I can just stand myself until the technicians finish my repairs," Roxy laid out. She started to reach for her hair before dropping her arms. "Be honest… how bad is it?"
Charlie started to speak only to get a look from Chica and clammed up. Chica simply shook her head and pointed up, then looked up, then looked around in confusion.
Marionette felt something looming above him. He tilted his head up to see that Snippo had parked himself over him and was now staring down at him. He simply lowered his face again.
"…Snippo? Snippo!" Roxy snapped.
Chica finally looked above Marionetted. Mike and Charlie followed her eyes and found Snippo currently hanging overtop a very uneasy looking Marionette who seemed to adamantly refuse looking up again.
"Snippo, come over here!"
Snippo slid over Marionette only to suddenly stick his face directly into the Puppet's as to get a better look. Marionette flinched back, raising an arm defensively in preparation to shove it back- Mike preparing to do so as well. However, the Staff Bot kept rolling along. Marionette frowned warily and waited until Roxy was distracted with the bot before leaning in to whisper to Mike.
"Is this what it felt like when I used to follow you around the house?" he asked.
"No way. You were way scarier," Mike said.
Marionette dropped his arms and gave Mike an incredulous look.
"You were cuter too," Mike added, giving him a little grin.
Marionette broke into a mischievous smile, his eyes narrowing cheekily.
"How hot IS the Puppet, Mike?"
Oh, so he had heard that. Not that Mike was hiding his finding. He just hadn't had a chance to bring it up. From Marionette's coy tone, he didn't sound upset so he must've believed as much.
Mike grin edged into a smirk as he matched his tone.
"Hotter than the gator for sure."
Marionette pulled him in by their joined arms while leaning in just as closely as the Staff Bot had to him. Though in this case there wasn't the slightest effort to push him back. If anything, Mike smiled a little wider.
"You're such a charmer," Marionette trilled.
"Yeah, well," Mike said. Then boldly stole an easy kiss while he could, instigating more trills.
Chica stared at them in surprise before looking to Charlie, then back to Marionette, pointing back and forth between them with both hands.
"I'm his sister. Err, well, sort of," Charlie explained.
Snippo dropped down in front of Roxy with a loud creak of his waist joint. His eyes now totally fixated on her as he lifted a hand. The end of his finger opened and a small brush tip came through.
"We will begin with eyeshadow. Color. Color. I am thinking… red."
"Snippo, I don't have EYES," Roxy huffed. Snippo seemed confused, but unsure if he understood, she simply huffed again and gave a direct, "Sk-Skip the eye shadow. Start with blush."
"You are the boss," Snippo agreed. He switched fingers to another brush and lowered it into the box of makeup. "Is that a yes for red?"
"Yes, thank you."
"Excellent choice. You will look stunning."
He dabbed the brush into the red pallet shaped like Glamrock Freddy. Considering that there was no separation between it, the eyeshadow, and the lipstick, it seemed to be all in one. Making the different makeup brushes useless, perhaps, but likely something heavier that would stick to Roxy's shell like normal makeup would to human skin.
He then began trying to trace the edges of the stripes on her cheeks. His motions were quick and precise, but even though some of those cheeks remained, the bigger problem was what was leftover on her skin. They hadn't replaced that part- they couldn't- so the oily substance in her hair and on her face was still there. The brush swiped into it, leaving a sludgy, semi-red but mostly blackish brown marking behind.
"Oh Honey. There is an unknown residue on your perfect shell. It is interfering with the blushing process. Uh huh."
"What?!" Roxy reached up and touched the substance, feeling it on her fixed fingers. "Ugh, what is this? Is this grease?!" She brought it to her nose to smell and recognized it instantly. "Oh my God!"
"We can wipe it off! There's got to be napkins or something around here," Charlie assured. She began to sort through the makeup supplies on the vanity, realizing quickly that most of them were props.
"Is my hair covered in it too?!" Roxy reached up and began to claw at her hair and noticed that there were still patches of stickiness.
Overwhelmed and at the end of her rope, Roxy broke down and began crying again. Chica looked startled before patting her back and shaking her shoulders reassuringly.
Snippo made a beeping noise before proclaiming, "You are the best! You are a winner! You are Roxanne Wolf, and nobody beats you!" in Roxy's own voice. It must've been a recording as it ended with a beep as well.
Somehow this seemed to calm Roxy. She let out a low whine and a sigh, sucking up her non-existent tears and swallowing her sobs. Her leg bouncing anxiously.
"This isn't working!" she choked out. Her voice filled with frustration.
Watching this was painful. It was as though any progress made in repairing Roxy was being stripped away by this backwards automated process.
Marionette squeezed Mike's arm and his voice flowed directly into his head, "There must be something we can do to help. Maybe there's cleaning wipes behind that counter over there?"
Mike was feeling the same way, but he had something else in mind. Doing makeup couldn't be much harder than painting Marionette's mask for him.
"I've got an idea," he thought. He squeezed Marionette's arm back, unhooked his, and walked over. "You know what? Let me help."
Roxy snapped her head up towards him. "What do you know about it?!"
"I do Mari's paint all the time. I can't say I'm an expert, but I can stay in the lines," he assured.
He looked back at Marionette expectantly to see him already heading for the counter. Charlie also headed over to help, but just as she reached the counter his arm shot up from behind it, proudly holding a container of cleaning wipes. He then whisked back over with her in tow and passed them off to Mike, who had already pulled a rolling stool over and was sitting down in front of Roxy.
Roxy still seemed skeptical, but it wasn't until Chica nudged her shoulder, provoking an answer out of her, that she finally gave one.
"Snippo, stand down. We've got a makeup tech here," she said in a sigh.
Snippo moved aside without fuss, instead lowering himself beside Mike.
"Welcome to the Glamrock Beauty Salon. Is this your first time filling in as a makeup tech and do you require instructions to do so?"
"He's not a novice," Roxy said. Mostly so they could skip the instruction process.
Mike took that as his cue. "No thanks, Snippo. I've got it covered."
"Of course. Only the best for Roxanne Wolf. I will monitor your progress and step in if required."
"Don't get huffy," Roxy said.
Mike pulled out one of the wet wipes and scooted closer on the stool.
"Let's just clean you up here..." He carefully wiped down her face, taking care to avoid the exposed upper half. "You know, you got pretty lucky. We comb your hair down the right way, and nobody'll notice." Roxy scoffed. "Until morning, I mean. Then they'll get you fixed up."
"I don't trust them," Roxy muttered. "Besides, my hair is horrible."
"I have an idea!" Marionette interjected. He looked to Charlie and Chica. "Why don't we do Roxy's hair? There's a washing station right over there. We can give it a good scrub and style it while Mike paints."
Chica pounced on the idea, nodding quickly, and giving a thumbs up. Charlie agreed with a, "Uh, sure!"
"Yes! -I mean, you can do that. Yes," Roxy said, trying to not sound too enthusiastic but regardless shot to her feet.
They got her over to the washing station and, not wanting to trust the chair, she bent forward and turned her head to the side. Resting her head on the sink and allowing most of her wild hair to fill the basin.
"Now, Charlie, your hands do better in full submersion. Do you mind?" Marionette asked.
"Course not! I think I can handle a little hair. I used to have a little of it myself," Charlie said. He chimed happily as they switched places, and she turned the sink on.
"Wait, I need- I can't be washed with normal shampoo. My hair's… synthetic. I have a special kind for it," Roxy interjected.
Chica patted her arm and turned to go check the back for it only to have Snippo whizz up and thrust a bottle at her. She didn't flinch but simply narrowed her eyes, keeping one hand on her hip and slowly grabbing the bottle, not appreciating the jump. She turned around and passed the bottle off to Marionette, who looked at it.
The white bottle had a little bear face on it and read 'Fazbear Grade Mascot Hair & Suit cleaning shampoo- do not use on humans or animals'. He curiously turned it over to look at the back label and to little surprise there wasn't one. Yet another mystery of Freddy's apparently.
Charlie started rinsing out Roxy's hair with the sprayer, combing down the wet tresses easier and saturating them. She could feel the grease, both slick and yet making the hair feel tacky and stuck. Once thoroughly wet, she drew her hands back.
"Could you squirt a little of that in?" Marionette nodded and popped the top before pouring a generous amount over Roxy's hair. Following Charlie's instructions of, "More… Little more… That's good. Thanks."
She began to work the shampoo in. It had an overwhelming cherry scent, once that had Chica silently swooning as she thought of deep-fried cherry pies and all the other good food she was missing out on. More importantly though, it was doing wonders to separate the grease from her hair and from Charlie's hands.
"This stuff is great! We could use some of this back at Foxy's," she complimented.
"But I take it from the bottle that it's not sold in the gift shop?" Marionette guessed. Chica shook her head while Mike curiously took the bottle and looked at the back, raising his brows at the lack of any back sticker.
"It's not. It's just for my hair," Roxy said with an edge of a bragging tone. One that sounded much better than the broken one from minutes earlier.
"So, slipping you a twenty wouldn't do any good?" Mike semi-joked.
"Make it two hundred and we'll talk," Roxy shot down.
Once Charlie finished up, Chica plugged in a hairdryer left in the salon and dried her hair. Once that was door- and her hair was clean, puffy, and mostly dry- they moved her back to her vanity.
There Mike sat on the stool in front of her and finished cleaning up anything he missed while Marionette perched on the vanity behind her and began to brush out her hair.
"Do you still want red?" Mike double-checked.
Roxy agreed, and using a makeup brush he confiscated from supplies at a separate vanity, he began to apply it to her cheek marks, which were no longer hidden by grime. Slowly and carefully, he traced over them, tongue slowly sliding out between his teeth as he focused on the narrow ends. It didn't take long to get both done.
"There we go. Onto the lips."
As Mike patted the brush into the palette, getting it nice and rosy, Roxy tilted back her head so that Marionette could get more of the top. Her ear twitching as she brushed it evening out the hair behind it.
She could tell Snippo was still sitting there obediently, waiting for something to do, so she spoke up, "Snippo, give us some gossip." At least it would get her mind off her own problems.
"I have all the gossip and I am happy to share it. I heard: Lilly came to the salon last week. She asked to have her hair dyed midnight black. We do not have midnight black. We have midnight blue and moonless black. She did not want either color and wanted to combine both colors. She was informed that Fazbear Entertainment does not recommend using more than one color of dye due to the risk of hair damage. She wanted to combine colors. I applied both midnight blue and moonless black to her hair and there was significant hair damage. She then informed the manager."
"Ugh, of course she did," Roxy groaned. Chica, who was poking around some nail polishes, rolled her eyes in agreement.
"So, who is this Lilly? I take it not a friend of yours," Marionette asked.
"Repeat customer and major brat. I think her parents work for Fazbear Entertainment, because she always uses the employee discount and acts like she owns the place," Roxy vented. "What else, Snippo?"
"I heard: Limited Edition Roxy Cola flavored Fizzy Faz will become a permanent menu item under the name Rockstar Cola."
"About time," Roxy remarked.
"You ready?" Mike asked.
She answered by leaning back forward, leaning forward with her mouth closed- like she was trying to pucker her lips- inviting him to paint them. Which he started to do. The makeup went on surprisingly smoothly.
"I heard: sounds from the basement. Again. Again. Again. Underneath the raceway."
Roxy sighed. "That was probably me, Snippo," she said. Thankfully able to project it without opening her mouth, just leaving her voice a little muffled.
"Patient Zero is in the building. Patient Zero is in the building."
"Snippo!" Roxy snapped. Literally making the motion with her hand but not moving her face to effect Mike's painting. "Relevant gossip, please."
"I heard: James Wight is having an affair with one of his employees."
"That's all? You'd think by now they'd have details," Roxy said.
"And who on earth is Patient Zero?" Marionette asked. Still brushing her hair and smiling as he did, sounding more curious than intrusive.
"So, a patient zero is the first person who gets sick in a large group of people. Like let's say a kid came in sick and spread chicken pox to the rest of the daycare, he would be Patient Zero," Charlie explained. She paused and waited for Snippo or someone to clarify, and when they didn't, she looked at him warily. "…Or I hope that's what he meant."
"Probably that guy who wiped out half of the human employees with one disgusting stomach bug. Ugh. And he was working on the food. He should've been fired," Roxy said.
She sounded convinced of this, Marionette didn't sound that concerned either, but Charlie felt a little uneasy. She couldn't read Mike's response either because he had his eyes on Roxy's lips, and Chica's expression was still neutral.
Something about that phrase just didn't sit right with her.
She noticed Chica looking at her again and looked back, now with an eye open and the other squinted, as though quirking a brow. It wasn't a glare at least so Charlie shot a somewhat unsure smile back.
"What's this about Wight sleeping around?" Mike asked with a cocky little smirk.
"It's one of the more popular rumors. Employees come in here right around the end of the month before the employee discounts rollover and get their hair done, and talk trash about upper management," Roxy explained. She flicked her tail behind her. "It's a lot of cattiness for a business built around a bear."
Mike chuckled at that and finished up. "Done," he announced, dropping the brush back into the makeup box.
"Really? Is it even?" Roxy asked, turning her head so he could check both sides. "You have to be my eyes. It has to be perfect."
"It's even. Don't you worry," Mike said. He double checked just in case, but it was as even as he could possibly get it. "I don't mean to brag, but this might be some of my best work."
Roxy scoffed, obviously not buying it. "It better be."
Marionette hummed and spun the accessory stand to look through the options. "We're missing something…" He found a pair of sunglasses and plucked them up, feeling the magnetic pull and judging the size, and then handed them over Roxy's shoulder to Mike. "Try these."
"There we go. That's what we need," Mike agreed. He took the sunglasses and went to fit them on. It was weird, no doubt about it, but they were magnetized so they managed to at least stay on, resting on her muzzle. "Perfect!"
"Does- Does it cover it up at all?" Roxy asked hopefully.
"Oh yeah. This and bringing the hair down a little, it covers most of it," Mike assured. He got an insistent tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Chica offering him a bottle of red nail polish. He took it. "Thanks. Hey, you want me to do your nails to match?"
"Thank you. That would be… Wait, no." Roxy was reaching her hand out to start when she pulled it back. "Thank you, but no. My biggest fan comes in on Saturday and we can get them done together."
Chica clasped her hands and tilted her head in an 'aww'ing sort of way.
"That's very sweet of you," Marionette complimented, getting back to brushing her hair. "I have a special little friend too. What's yours like?"
"She's a sweetheart, and such a cool kid. But I don't know what's wrong with her parents, but they're never around. They didn't even show up for her birthday party."
"That's awful!" Marionette sympathized. "My little friend had trouble with her parents too. It took until a scare for them to start paying more attention, but they have gotten better."
"Well, I'm not waiting around until a scare for them to get their act together. Her uncle's one of the technicians here. I might just have a word with him after he fixes my face."
"I think that would be an excellentidea. One last thing."
Marionette gently guided Roxy's head to turn and then leaned over at an angle that would've been unsustainable if he wasn't capable of levitation and finished up with the front. Keeping the green bang the same, he brushed forwards from tresses to hand in front of her ears and frame her face. It wasn't perfect, but it covered some of the major damage.
"Done!" Marionette proclaimed.
"How… How do I look?" Roxy asked unsurely. She turned to the others, unable to see for herself.
"You look great!" Mike assured.
"…You're just saying that."
"I'm not, trust me. I've seen animatronics in perfect condition that look like they've been tossed around in the back of a truck. You look great. The parts that don't don't take away from that."
"…Thank you."
"And your hair is wonderful," Marionette gushed. He started combing the back down again. "I thought it would be like doll hair, but it's so soft!"
"Now you're kissing up."
"No, no. I love hair!"
"He loves hair," Mike added.
"That explains some things… Thank you," Roxy said. She then flagged for Snippo. "Snippo, grab me a couple of bottles of my shampoo." Snippo nodded and zipped away. "You can have them. They manufacture them here at the Pizzaplex, so I have plenty to go around. My thanks for helping me clean up."
"Oh, thank you! That would be wonderful!" Marionette chimed.
"Make sure to use at least one of those bottles on that boss of yours. He's got a fabric body, so he's got to be as greasy as a garage floor right now."
"We'll make sure to," Marionette said with a soft chuckling chime.
"We'll put it to good use," Mike agreed. He could smell that stuff from a good two feet away and it wasn't bad at all. Which was good because from the Puppet's excitement he knew he likely too would want to use it.
"He can thank you too. Here he comes," Charlie said. The others, save Roxy, looked to see Foxy hobbling across the fake road outside with Jeremy as his side. "Here he comes slowly."
Jeremy got the door and Foxy hesitantly stepped inside, spotting the group who was waving him over. He straightened his back, getting an affirming pat from Jeremy to get him going, and walked over to them.
"Hey, guys," Jeremy greeted, receiving a few 'hey's in return.
Foxy was relieved to see that Roxy had been cleaned up. A little confused at the flaming red lipstick and sunglasses, but whatever made her feel better. At least she looked cool doing it. Foxy couldn't say the same for himself.
"You clean up nice," Foxy complimented.
"Even at my worst I look good," Roxy bragged. A confidence that she certainly didn't have at her actual worst.
"Heh heh. Ah… Aye…" Foxy shifted awkwardly, then sighed. "Roxy… I'm sorry about all this."
"It wasn't your fault," Roxy deflected.
"It sorta was."
"It was as much my fault as it was your fault, and since it wasn't my fault, screw it, it was that rabbit witch," Roxy sharply corrected, shutting down the train of thought. "I would love to make a skid mark out of her."
"Ye and me both," Foxy agreed.
There was a tense moment. Everyone else felt it and silently waited for Foxy to say whatever he was going to say, but he didn't.
"I'll letcha be," he finally said. He turned on his heel with the intention of hurrying off.
"Hey, wait!" Roxy reached blindly for him to stop him. He stopped on a dime like he had been grabbed. "…Thank you for not leaving me. I don't know what that thing could've done to me if I was stuck down there."
"Aye… yer welcome. Least I could'a done."
"What thing?" Marionette asked.
"Endo wrapped in wires, possessed by something evil. Vanny, eh," Foxy brushed off. Then continued with Roxy while Marionette and Mike shared a couple of horrified and confused looks respectively. "I wouldn'ta left ya."
"I appreciate that. I was so ticked I might've left you," Roxy admitted.
"I don't think you would," Foxy disagreed. He chuckled a little. "If anyone was gonna whoop me it was gonna be ye."
"You say 'was' like I didn't," Roxy retorted.
He chuckled again, a little more honestly now. He could feel the weight starting to lift a little and he shuffled back up to her and put his hook on her shoulder.
She looked up at him, almost like she could see him even though she clearly couldn't. Both of them still broken in one way or another but still holding it together- it was like he was seeing her for the first time.
"Roxy, Lass."
"What?"
"…Yer hair looks better like this."
"Oh, shut up. You're such a weirdo," Roxy said and shoved his arm off. This time he laughed a little more honestly and staggered a little.
Jeremy breathed a silent sigh of relief. Chica had a happy look in her eyes and clasped her hands together.
Marionette chimed happily and then turned his head and gave Mike another borderline panicked 'what was that about a wire thing?!' look, but that was a disaster for another time, it seemed. Mike assured as much as he put an arm around him and held him close.
They'd have to tackle it one step at a time. It looked like Foxy and Roxy were off to a good start, at least when it came to picking up the pieces, so they would give them their moment.
Charlie smiled for them. She was glad to have helped. She was glad that it seemed like Chica was warming up to them, maybe more the others than her.
But just the sight of Snippo returning reminded her that there was something very wrong. What it had said still lingered in the back of her mind.
She kept it to herself… for now.
…
"Yup, she was definitely here, alright," Natalie said as she looked through the photos again.
She, Fritz, and Monty had gotten the photos developed and currently were in the Lost and Found office. Her and Monty looked at the evidence while Fritz flipped through the cameras- looking between the basement and Roxy Raceway for any sign of a funky signal or a freaky suit.
"What tips ya off?" Monty asked curiously.
Natalie showed him one of the pictures, and he lifted his sunglasses and leaned in to look.
"See that weird glitchiness around the edge right here?" she asked. She traced the glitchiness with a lilac painted nail. Monty gave a nod. "That pops up on the security cameras sometimes when she gets on them. They'll freeze up or the picture will jolt, and this'll start popping up when it straightens itself out."
"Huh… Case closed, ah guess."
"Oh yeah. I didn't need this to prove it, but it does cement it."
"What're you gonna do?"
Natalie tapped her thumb on the picture as she stared at it. "…I don't know."
What could she do? Vanny had been running rampant for weeks and any attempt to initial bring it up had been rebuffed. It was at the point now where she doubted any form of evidence would convince them to do anything.
"But if I report it, I know they're just going to cover it up. The last time I did they started pulling rank on me. I'll probably lose my job." And lose their only way into Freddy's.
"They will. They'll fire you," Fritz said. His tone uncharacteristically bitter. So much so that Natalie looked to him in surprise. "And then they might turn it around and try to pin it on you. Pretend that you were the problem and now that you're out of the picture, everything's going to be just dandy." Fritz inhaled deeply before sighing. "Sorry."
"Don't be. You ain't wrong," Monty huffed.
Natalie didn't say anything. Instead, she went over to Fritz and came up behind him, laying her hands on his shoulders and giving him an assuring squeeze. Fritz reached up and took her hand.
"This whole thing just has me on edge. Just thinking of you being stuck in here with her…" Fritz trailed off.
It wasn't like there was anything more to say. Anything he could say she already knew and would just be reminding her of the danger she was already well-aware of. But a place like this? It was slowly becoming more dangerous. Vanny was becoming more bold, strange occurrences and 'accidents' were piling up, and Fritz was regretting this plan to get her into Freddy's. It felt like he put her on the chopping block to save his own neck.
Natalie leaned over to hug him around the shoulders while leaning over him to kiss him on the temple.
"I understand," she assured him. She didn't have to elaborate; he knew that she did. He sunk into her arms, his own going slack into the office chair.
Monty watched the scene before putting two and two together.
"Hey, wait a minute…" He stared for a minute longer, until Natalie looked back at him, and then it finally clicked. He crossed his arms with a smug chuff. "And here I was wonderin' how we got a technician down here so fast."
"It's a conflict of interest, but we like to live dangerously," Natalie admitted with a guilty smile.
"Rock on, Little Lady."
Of course, Monty would be on-board with that sort of conflict of interest, though he probably didn't know it unless Louise tipped him off.
Natalie gave Fritz another squeeze before letting go and heading back over to Monty and the pictures. She looked down at the ones left sprawled on the table. She cracked a smile at the one of Foxy and his new friends getting their picture taken- and from everyone's startled look or the red dots in their eyes it seemed like Monty accidentally left the flash on. She was going to have to save that one.
"Whoa, hold up! Was that a van?!"
"What?" Natalie snapped her head over towards Fritz, as did Monty. "What's going on?"
"A van just blew out of the basement!"
"Are you serious?!" Natalie raced over to look but only caught sight of what looked to be a garage. One of the doors was open. "Someone just drove a van out of here?!"
"Yes! An alert popped up and by time I figured out how to get down there, I caught the tail end of it driving out."
Natalie could only stare with her mouth slightly agape. That was the last thing she expected.
Monty hmphed and adjusted his sunglasses. "Guess Bunny Girl threw herself out."
"There's no way," Natalie said. "There's no way she would've actually left. And if she did, she wouldn't steal a van. She probably has her car sitting in the parking garage somewhere."
Indeed, there was no way Vanny would've left. Especially considering that she had won. It had to be someone else.
Natalie squinted her eyes suspiciously. "Time to do a head count."